Evanescent Firefly Lane
by NightsShade04
Summary: Harumi has been granted a second chance by the Dragons. Her goal is to change the horrid future she's seen into something bright and beautiful. But it's not going to be easy. Harumi has to carry around the weight of Miharu, not to mention, Death is stalking her. He doesn't like to be cheated and he wants her soul back. Will she managed to change the future and survive this time?
1. Here We Go Again

**Disclaimer: Obviously, I do not own Naruto or any of the characters besides Harumi, and anyone who doesn't belong in the original Naruto plot**.

Excitement flowed through Tsukino's veins as she and Shingetsu flew towards Ryujin, the finale step on initiation for a Hunter to be recognized as a Scholar. This was it. Shingetsu had done as he promised Harumi. He became a Jounin and put his all into training his students. For a while, he was very melancholy and was a bit sickly and frail. Toru and Tsukino fretted that he would drop any minute, but he eventually got better. It confused Tsukino. She had thought that being a Dragon meant that he had to die because Hanako died. He explained to her that he wasn't full-fledged. He was only half and wouldn't die with his lover. He wasn't sure whether or not he should be grateful for that.

Both Toru and Tsukino became Chunin quite some time ago. Tsukino was promoted to Jounin about a year ago. Everyone had moved up at least one rank, except Naruto, whom had left the village half a year after Harumi's death with the toad sage for training. Tsukino blushed, thinking of him. The moment she saw that he had returned, her joy over took her and she hugged him on an impulse. She had been stuttering excuses and apologizes when he slipped his fingers under her chin and kissed her. Much to her embarrassment and dismay, Tsukino fainted right after that.

The island came into view and was coming towards them. What made Ryujin Island so special was that it _moved_ and it was shaped like a Dragon with its wings spread out. Then again, it was a home for the various Dragons, sacred. Not just anyone was allowed on it. As it got closer and closer, Tsukino's heart beat faster and faster. The last time she came here, she was cruelly rejected and she was afraid it was going to happen again.

Shingetsu reached over and squeezed her shoulder. "Don't worry. You've worked hard and have come a long way. They'll see that and they'll accept you. Dragons can be blunt and terribly strict, but they aren't cold-hearted. They won't ignore your efforts or your feelings." She smiled at him and released a relieved breath. Shingetsu was pretty good at playing the Father role. Both of his students came to view him in that way. He never gave himself credit for it though. He always gave it to Hanako. He'd also said he wished he'd been better for Harumi. They would try to convince him he had, but they only got bitter, sad smiles and a pat on the head in return.

He began to descend and she quickly followed her lead. It was just as big as she remembered. The blades of grass were as tall as them, the trees resemblant of pillar-like mountains. This was a Dragon's world, where things were made to match their immense size. Her feet touched the dirt and a nearby Dragon, stared at her for a long while before nodding his acceptance and tears of happiness filled her eyes.

"Now then, let's go to Ryugu-jo." **[1]** Shingetsu says and then took off, hopping over the air. Tsukino wiped her tears and followed after him, weaving through the human sized grass and flowers. She had thought the palace would at least be human sized but she was dead wrong. It was much bigger than mountains, big enough to let Dragons roam inside comfortably.

"Hell… this has got to be the biggest house in the world…" Tsukino breathed and Shingetsu smiled at her kindly and they entered. Shingetsu led her to a large room where a huge scroll was laid out. Shingetsu handed her the pen and Tsukino swiftly signed her name and then, in blood, put her hands print below her name. Curiosity got the better off her and she looked who sighed it before her and froze:

Harumi Mochizuki-Uzumaki

"When did Harumi come here?" Tsukino asked.

"What are you talking about?" Shingetsu asked. "Harumi's never been here."

"But her name is one the scroll…" Tsukino pointed out. Shingetsu stared at the name neatly scrawled onto the scroll. _Could it be? Did the Dragons really...?_

* * *

She pushed as fast as she could, determined to reach them before they left. Finally, someone she knew was here. When Harumi had first woken up, she only had the memories she regained while in the afterlife. They managed to bring her back but she was just a shell with only memories of Sasuke and her death. Over time, they filled in the gaps and she regained everything she had lost in the transition from one world to the next. She had asked Houka why that happened and the woman said it was so the soul could settle into the next world comfortably; so that they would have any attachments keeping them longing for the next world, prohibiting them from ever truly being comfortable.

But, despite being complete, she was still unable to leave. Her body had yet to solidify. She could easily exist on this island, but if she were to leave it, her body would break apart again and she would return to the afterlife, possibly unable to come back again, so she remained – begrudgingly – even though she wanted to run and tell all her loved ones she was alive… again. It wasn't a complete waste of time. While she was waiting, she trained and was now a full-fledged Dragon Sage.

She spotted them up ahead. "Dad!" His muscles tensed and he slowly turned and Harumi crashed into him, throwing her arms around his torso and burying her face in his chest. "Dad…"

"Harumi…" He wrapped his arms around her tightly. As he thought, the Dragon's had brought her back. The pressure on his chest had lifted to years ago, but he thought nothing of it. He just assumed he was moving on. His fingers curled into the fabric of her pink top, looking very similar to her mothers clothing, arms trembling. Tsukino covered her mouth with both her hands, tears swelling up in her eyes. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Harumi, here, in the flesh and the same age as her. Harumi reached over and drew Tsukino into the embrace as well and they stood like that for a while, just holding each other, a few tears falling and a few whispered, 'Thank goodnesses' and 'I'm so happy's' and 'Welcome back's'.

"Would you three cut it out already!?" A female voice snapped. Bug eyed, Shin looked up. "Harumi has training to get to get to after she plays with Sosuke, Damn it!"

"Houka!?"

"Why do you look so damn surprised? I'm a fucking Dragon!" Houka snarled. She had Shingetsu had never really gotten along. She had never a very high opinion of the Uchiha Clan and hated that Hanako fell in love with them. Although, a certain Uchiha changed her mind.

Shingetsu's eyebrow twitched. He liked Houka as much as she liked him and was always quick with a retort or a reason to argue with her, often for her foul language. "Do you know how foul my daughter's mouth is because of you!?"

"Who gives a shit?"

"Cut it out!"

"What are you gonna do if I don't, you pathetic dumbass? What the hell did Hanako see in you anyway?" They bickered back and forth now, Houka calmly with a sense of superiority and Shingetsu angrily. Harumi could only smile. Deep down, Harumi knew they were really glad to see each other again. They were friend with a love-hate relationship and they did care for each other, although, they'd never admit it to anyone.

"So how are things?" Harumi asked, smiling at Tsukino like this was an everyday thing. People just came back from the dead. Tsukino swallowed her tears of joy and answered the question with anything she could think of that would be of interest to Harumi.

"I'm a Jounin." Harumi smiled at her, impressed. Tsukino swallowed again, heart twisting. How she had missed Harumi. "Gaara's a Kazekage. Toru and Naomi are engaged. I'm… dating Naruto." Harumi froze, looking shell shocked and then she grinned and started shrieking, jumping up and down while holding onto Tsukino's hands.

"That is so great!" She cheered and Tsukino smiled. She was here. She was alive. Everything was going to be okay now. Everything will fall into place now.

"You're really alive…"

"Yeah. I've been here for over two years now." Harumi replied, like it was no big deal. Their bond should have been renewed when she came back to life, but their minds of have divereted their attention from it because they believed her dead. She then sighed. "It sucks. It's so boring and I want to see everyone… especially… Sasuke."

"Yeah. Everyone will be happy to have you back. How did you come back anyway?" Tsukino asked. She she not really die? Coming back to life was forbidden wasn't it?

"I decided to."

"It's that easy!?" Tsukino shouted, appalled.

"No! Sorry, didn't explain that properly. One cannot be forced to leave the afterlife nor, by just deciding they don't want to be there anymore, can they just up and leave. The Dragons were pulling my soul out of the earth, pushing back together to re-create my body again and calling out to me; reaching out to me through the shirt Sasuke let me borrow during our land of wave's mission that I never gave back. It's an object that has the strongest connection to my soul. I used it as a night shirt then and it's used the same now. After calling out to me, I decided to go back, with the knowledge that I would have to die again and the very few memories I had, half of them very unpleasant."

"I see." Tsukino murmured. She was just happy Harumi was here again and she reached over, slipping her hand into Harumi's. Nothing was the same with out her. The world didn't seem so bright without her there to light it up.

"Soon, I'll be able to come home. My body can't sustain itself outside the island yet."

"We'll be waiting."

Harumi waved them off with a smile, eager to go back home and see everyone again. She'd have to find time to go see Gaara sometime soon though. She felt their bond get that compressed feeling and then return to normal. Something must have happened and she was worried.

"Auntie! Come play with me!" Harumi turned around, smiling at the young blackette.

"Coming, Sosuke!"

* * *

Sasuke stared at the mat covering the entrance to the room inside a cave behind a grand waterfall. His shirt was open and hung loosely around him. When the sun spilled into the cavern, he narrowed his eyes and stood, letting his long shirt slid off. He then walked towards the entrance, his hallucination of Harumi trailing after him a smile and a curious look in her eyes. He pushed aside the mat and stepped out of the room and continued until he reached the waterfall. He leaned forward and stuck his head in the falling water to wake himself up. Since Harumi's death, he had had trouble sleeping. The Harumi with him would try to comfort him into sleep but he would just stare at her, occasionally touching her.

That was the scaring thing. He could _touch_ her; feel her warmth. The only reminder he had that she wasn't real was that in the past three years, she hadn't changed one bit. She was still a bright eyed thirteen year old girl. Right now, she was looking everywhere but at him, a blush on her cheeks.

Sasuke put his hands together and in front of him and then crouched, pouring his Chakra into his hands and the Chidori engulfed them. He added more and it exploded outward, going down the river water and across the river below like a lightning bolt. Clapping resounded from behind him. He leaned over and grabbed a piece of her bangs gently, smiling at her. His fingers trailed back over her forehead, behind her ear and then came forward, dragging along the bottom of her jaw. Her blush darkened and he leaned in, pressing his lips to hers. Maybe it was because he spent so much time mesmerizing her body that his mind could conjure up what it felt like to touch her.

She pushed him away and looked away, her blush several times darker than it was moments go. She tried to look at him, but her eyes would fall down and she would look away again, embarrassed for staring, even if it was only for half a second. "Go put a shirt on…" He wondered if this was how Harumi would really react or if this was just how he wanted to react. He'd like to think he knew her that well, but, honestly, that girl was still mostly a mystery to him.

He stood and did as she asked and also picked up his sword – the sword she had bought him for his birthday. He stood on the rock overlooking the area. He wanted to stay. Here, he could caress and kiss thin air without having to watch his back for someone that might pop up out of nowhere and see him. Here, it was just him and her, but he had to return to Orochimaru now.

* * *

"Alright Harumi." Houka says. "You're free to go. You don't have to stay here anymore." Harumi stuck her tongue out at Houka and then pulled her into a hug. She made it sound like Harumi considered herself a prisoner. She then moved on to her son, Sosuke and hugged him tightly as well. She turned to the last member in the room that arrived shortly after Shingetsu and Tsukino left to visit his wife and son.

"Itachi-nii…" Harumi hummed and hugged him. She knew the truth but was forced to vow she would never speak a word of it to Sasuke, unless he already knew about it in order to obtain it or anyone else. A Dragon's vow is not something they could go back on. For the past two years, she had been trying to convince him to go tell Sasuke to no avail. "See you out in the world."

"Have fun, Harumi. Be careful." He rubbed her head, like he always used to and it made her heart ache. If only she could tell Sasuke, she could save Itachi and Sasuke could have his beloved big brother back and Sosuke wouldn't become an orphan. If Itachi dies, Houka will too, in time and Sosuke will be left to Harumi, his Godmother. His godfather is Sasuke. Harumi was afraid, Sasuke would find out the truth after killing Itachi and what would happen to him.

She took off, refusing to wait to go see her family and friends any longer. Her first stop was going to be Sasuke. She needed to stop by him and let him know she was alright before going back to Konoha and to visit her friends in the sand. She stopped halfway through, becoming uncertain of herself. What if he didn't want to see her? Or recognize her? What if… over time… he had gotten over her and didn't care for her anymore? His heart had turned to dark after leaving Konoha. Did he even remember her anymore?

_"Poor, Harumi. So lost and confused and hurt. You know, you really don't have to suffer through this. Just let me have control and you can sleep in oblivion."_ Miharu cooed, trying to entice Harumi to give her heart over to the darkness. _"You'd be best giving up on that boy. You know what kind of future he makes. How many of your friends does he kill during his attack on Konoha?"_

"Shut up!" Harumi snapped, but doubt and fear gripped her heart. _'He won't… He won't!'_

A dark, worm-like body wrapped itself around Harumi, intensifying the darkness in her heart, coaxing her into the darkness. The fear, the doubt, the pain and her vision faded to black.**[2]**

* * *

Sasuke walked through the halls of Orochimaru's lair. He had arrived a couple days ago and Orochimaru was currently summoning him. The door slid open automatically and Sasuke stepped in. It shut behind him. Orochimaru, weak from whatever the Third did to him years ago, laid in bed, Kabuto standing loyally at his side.

"So you came… Sasuke-kun." Orochimaru mused. Sometimes, Sasuke wouldn't come when Orochimaru called, much to Kabuto's irritation.

"What do you want?" Sasuke snapped.

"We received information that Konoha was bombed this morning. Apparently, some ancient Sky Country Shinobi were the ones behind it." The Hallucination's eyes widened with concern for her beloved home. Sasuke, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes irately.

"Do you really think I give a damn about Konoha?" He saw Harumi frown from the corner of his eye and knew his hallucination was going to give him a piece of her mind, whether he wanted her to or not, which was kind of sad. She was made by his mind, yet, half the time, he felt as though he couldn't control her.

Orochimaru smirked at him. "It's hard to believe that you don't still care about that. Anyway, I didn't summon you here to talk about that-!" He broke off into a coughing fit.

"Orochimaru-sama!" Kabuto gasped and Harumi smirked, enjoying Orochimaru's suffering. She still retained her hatred for that man with a passion.

"Sasuke-kun… There's a man I want you to bring here."

"A man?" Sasuke echoed, wondering if Orochimaru swung that way. He did want Sasuke's body and sometimes… he acted like a pervert.

"A doctor." Kabuto elaborated, guessing what Sasuke was thinking.

"The doctor who gave me the secrets of the forbidden Rebirth Jutsu." Orochimaru explained. "Unlike me, that man must've have perfected it by now."

"I see, it's _him_, huh?"

"Bring him here." Orochimaru ordered. "I must have that Jutsu right away."

* * *

Harumi lay in a large citadel, beneath a cocoon with a huge, black worm-like creature in it, slowly dying her heart black. She breathed heavily, trying to fight it off, but it was working her over and her hair was beginning to turn dark blue. Miharu smirked, dead eyes looking sinister. Soon, she would be the one in control. She couldn't wait to play with Sasuke. How much could she torment his heart before he broke? Would he even be able to raise his hand against her? The thought of it thrilled her. Even though he was the very reason she existed, she wanted nothing more than to watch him wiggle like a worm caught in the talons of a falcon.

**[1] Ryugu-jo literally means Dragon Palace Castle. It's supposed to be the home of the Dragon God, Ryujin or Owatatsumi. (So says Wikipedia)**

**[2] Who knows who that was? ;)**


	2. Now you know

**Disclaimer: Obviously, I do not own Naruto or any of the characters besides Harumi, and anyone who doesn't belong in the original Naruto plot**.

Miharu giggled quietly to herself from above, highly amused by the spectacle being displayed below. Harumi's precious nii-nii was pretty useless against Shinno. He tried to fight back but only got tossed around in the process and that red haired girl was beyond pathetic and annoying. She wanted to join in on the fun, but she'd wait until Sasuke arrived. Besides, completely overwhelming an enemy wasn't fun. It was boring and pitiful. Although, she found being the one in a pickle she could probably die in excited her to a whole new level.

_"Hey, Harumi? Are you watching?"_

_ 'He'll win.'_

Miharu huffed, her amused smiled growing. She could say she didn't share her other half's confidence in the knucklehead, but, for now, she'd watch and wait.

"It might sound a little corny, but…" Naruto stumbled toward Shinno, bruised and bleeding from the mouth. "I love the people who taught me, I love my friends, I love Ero-sennin and I love my late baby sister." Amaru's head jerked in surprise. She had wondered where the hint of sadness in the depths of his ocean blue eyes came from. Inside Miharu, standing in darkness, Harumi smiled and Miharu felt her hold on Harumi's body weaken and she scoffed. "I love them. I love them!" He started to run. "I love them so much, it hurts!" He was pushed back again, sliding to a stop beside the Amaru girl.

"That's enough already. Cut it out. Sorry for trying to be informative." Shinno sighed, closing his eyes. "It was a mistake trying to enlighten you when you're not even listening to me. Sensei? Love?" Shinno laughed. "Then tell me, what kind of power did Amaru's love evolve into?" Amaru's eyes opened wide. "She's just going to end up hurting yo-" Her body stiffened and a look of horror spread of her features.

"Shut up!" Naruto snarled and ran at Shinno. He was shoved back with Dark Chakra again and landed on his back next to Amaru.

"Naruto!" Amaru gasped. "That's… my… power?"

"I'm not listening to that crap!" Naruto snapped and ran at him again. Miharu gave him points for trying. This time, instead of just pushing him back, Shinno punched him a couple times, kneed him in the stomach and _then_ pushed him back with Dark Chakra. He slammed into Amaru and Amaru glared at him. Miharu fidgeted and bit her lip. She really wanted to join in to.

"That's a nice look, Amaru. Don't forget that hatred. I'll never forgive you if you do." She set the unconscious Naruto down and pulled out a scalpel. She held it like a weapon and prepared to dart Shinno in Naruto's stead, but then froze, her master's kind words ringing in her head:

_There will always be blades that take lives, but there are also blades that save them._

Tears streamed down her face and she clutched the scalpel her sensei gave her, wishing they could go back to those happy days. Miharu groaned and tilted her head back. She wished someone would just kill her already. Harumi, on the other hand, felt for the poor child, suffering under the betrayal of someone precious.

"Amaru…" Naruto murmured, pushing himself up into a sitting position. "I can… still go on. It's okay that you're sad and angry." He shakily got to his feet. "You can't keep it in anymore, isn't that right? You can just forget about it…" He took a step foreward and then fell to his knees. "Because I can deal with that pain for you." He smiled at her, only turning his head to the side a bit to look in her direction from the corner of his eye. Harumi smiled as well and pressed her hands against some invisible wall, tears welling up in her eyes. She had missed him so much and it was nice to see he hadn't changed much. She wanted to run and hug him, but she was trapped inside Miharu, thanks to the Rebi.

He got up again and began limping towards Shinno. "Don't move. I'm gonna beat you to a pulp!"

"Naruto…" Amaru whimpered. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She held the scalpel to her throat, new tears filling her eyes. Miharu grinned, leaning forward out of anticipation, eager for the girl to kill herself. "Sensei…" She thrust it towards herself, Harumi let out a cry no one could hear and it pierced skin. But not her skin. Naruto had realized what she was doing and hurriedly placed his arm between her neck and the scalpel allowing himself to be stabbed instead.

"You're wrong." He says. "That's not the answer. You… need to keep living." Blood spread over the sleeve of his jacket. "That's why… That's why there's no point in saying 'goodbye'. I told you, right? You have to tell him… the way you really feel." He pulled his arm away and she nodded.

She reached up and grabbed his arm and began ripping his shirt. "It was the first time I was appreciated, and it was the first time someone accepted me, but this is the first time… I was shown what to do." She used the part of his shirt she tore and tied it in a bow to keep it out of her way. She wiped some of her tears away, grabbed some bandages from her pouch and then began binding it. "It was the first time… I ever felt beautiful. All I ever wanted… was to know how he felt about me. It was always him… that I was thinking about." She turned to him, more tears falling. "It was the first time… I ever wanted you to like me!" Shinno smirked and scoffed. "I always… always… I always loved you, sensei!" He released a loud mocking laugh that made Harumi's blood boil and she pushed against Miharu's darkness. She wanted to help Naruto teach that guy a lesson.

"You…!" Naruto shouted, launching himself at Shinno. His fist successfully collided with Shinno's face. "…fucking idiot!" A clone appeared in front of Shinno and kneed him in the face. "How dare you…" A bunch more clones appeared. "…force such sickening ideas…" all of their attacks made it to Shinno. "…onto other people like that!?" Naruto slammed his fist into Shinno's stomach with as much force as he could muster. "The bond of love between people… will never be consumed by darkness!" Naruto slammed his clasped fists into Shinno's back and the older male slammed into the ground. He bounced up and two clones dropped kicked him in the side. A wave off clones appeared in direction Shinno was flying and they ran at him, beating up. "You're just… a piece of shit!" Naruto punched Shinno in the face again and Shinno flew across the room, destroying what was left of his throne on his way towards the wall. Miharu's eyebrows rose in surprise. She resisted the urge to whistle, not wanting to reveal herself just yet. Sasuke was just about there.

Shinno sat amongst the rubble, groaning from Naruto's beat down.

"My chakra is getting…" Shinno gasped when he realized he was getting low on his chakra. He gasped again when he noticed Naruto charging up his Rasengan.

"I told you… I would never…" Miharu grinned, more than ready to see someone finally die. She didn't care who at this point. She just wanted her blood thirst to be satisfied. "…forgive you. Rasengan!" Lightning chakra shot out from the corner of the room, throwing Naruto's Rasengan several yards out of the citadel. A large, twistedly excited grin stretched over Miharu's lips, pale, empty yellow eyes landing on the man she had been waiting for.

_"He's here.~"_

_ 'Sasuke…'_

"Sasuke… Sasuke!" Naruto breathed, looking up at his best friend. He casually sat on an odd structure attached the wall. Ignoring Naruto, he hopped down to the floor, his hallucination of Harumi following him. Her eyes continued to flicker to Naruto, but she remained next to him.

_"My, he's become rather attractive. Maybe after I screw up his head, I'll just flat out screw him." _Miharu licked her blue tinted lips.

Harumi made a choking noise. The last thing she wanted was Miharu touching Sasuke at all, let alone like that.

"Why are you here?"

"After all this time, it seems Lord Orochimaru would like some assistance from you." Sasuke says, addressing Shinno. His voice was so empty. It worried Harumi. She pressed her hand against the invisible glass harder, wishing she could jump down and hug him tightly to her and let him know she was okay.

"Oh? Is that the case?" Shinno mused. "And what if I should resist you? I assume you'd have to take me by force."

"If that's how you wish it to be, then yes." Sasuke coldly replied. He remained lax, like he had already won the fight. It interested Miharu enough to make her hold back her urges to fight a little longer. Shinno laughed at him, making a hand sign to focus his chakra.

"Don't underestimate me, kid. Do you think I'm all out of Dark Chakra?" He stood up throwing out his arm theatrically, making Miharu roll her eyes. "Ridiculous! The world is teeming with darkness from people's hearts. There's a prime example you might know very well sitting right above us." Miharu clicked her tongue out of annoyance. Both Sasuke and Naruto were now alert and searching for her. "And with my Body Activation Jutsu-!"

"Go ahead and try it." Sasuke cut in, getting tired of his antics. He was itching to get back to his training so that he could be alone with Harumi again. Shinno gasped and Sasuke moved so fast, only Miharu's eyes were able to keep track of him. He appeared behind Shinno. "I won't stop you. Be my guest." Harumi could detect a trace of irritation in his voice now and it gave her hope. He punched Shinno, knocking him into a wide, black pillar. Shinno slid to a crouch, leaning heavily against the pillar.

"What are you waiting for? Show it to me." Sasuke mocked him.

"Stop Sasuke!" Naruto called. "You don't get it! This guy gets stronger the more you beat him up!" Shino glared maliciously at Sasuke, a black aura surrounding him. Sasuke watched him with an almost bored expression. Shinno began building up his chakra only to gasp and collapse. His hair began falling out and turned snow white and his muscular build deteriorated. Miharu silently laughed to herself, enjoying her 'comrades' suffering.

"Doctor…" Amaru whimpered, concerned for him.

Sasuke approached him. "What's the matter? Can't heal yourself?"

"What have you done?" Shinno wheezed.

"I took a good look at your chakra. I saw its entire flow. Guess you didn't notice my Chidori senbon."

"You somehow undermined my chakra points. But when did you-?" He thought back on it and remembered getting pricked in the neck and his shoulders blades and his lower back.

"Don't worry. I won't kill you." Sasuke hummed, almost mockingly. "But I will be taking you back to face Orochimaru." Shinno stood on shaky legs, chuckling.

"I highly doubt Orochimaru wants me. He's probably…" Shinno swiped his finger down the pillar, opening a secret container holding a scroll. "…trying to get his hands on this. I stole this scroll from the leaf you see." He tossed the scroll and then grabbed the handle behind it that opened up a hole beneath his feet that lead right to the Rebi and dropped. Simultaneously, Miharu shot from her hiding spot, snatching up the scroll before it could reach Sasuke. The door closed behind him and he let out a screeching laugh.

"I'm not done yet! Nothing is finished! Hold them there for a bit, Harumi –Miharu, whatever your name is."

Miharu grinned slyly, not at all fazed by his slip in name, Technically, they were the same person, so she didn't mind. She stuffed the scroll in between her breasts. "With pleasure." She purred, yellow eyes surrounded by black pools openly eyeing Sasuke visible chest.

"Who are you!?" Naruto shouted.

"Aw, I'm hurt." Miharu feigned sadness, placing a hand over her heart. "Don't you recognize your own little sisters own face, Nii-nii." Naruto paled. "Go on, give me shimmering blonde hair and big sparkly blue eyes and more color to my skin and pink lips. Who do I look like?"

"Harumi died." Sasuke cut in tersely, glaring venomously at the bluette in front of him, holding the scroll he needed in a rather inappropriate place. He didn't want to have to stick his hand down her shirt to get it – he didn't want to touch any other woman besides Harumi – but it was looking like he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. He had to get that scroll, especially if the only reason he was here and had to hear that was ridiculous statement was for that rolled up parchment. He placed his hand on his sword and drew it.

_'That's… he kept it all this time…'_ Warmth spread through Miharu's veins ad she gasped, drawing her arms around her torso. Harumi's earlier fears of Sasuke having gotten over her or forgotten her vanished when she saw his sword and it was causing Miharu to lose her grip on Harumi's body. The tips of Miharu's hair turned golden and her black sclera faded into a dark grey color.

_"Damn it…"_

Miharu grinned wickedly and set the surrounding on fire. Sasuke hurriedly jumped away from the cold, blue flames licking at his feet, moving him closer to Miharu. Naruto, on the other hand, was pushed back.

_'So, she wants me, huh? So be it.'_ Sasuke channeled Chidori through his sword and ran at her. Miharu hardened the muscles in her hand and warded off his sword like that. They went at each other, in perfect sync. It bugged Sasuke. He had only ever been like thins when sparring with Harumi. The more he looked at the girl in front of him, the more he could see Harumi in her; the slightly pointed ears, the fangs, the claws, the eye shape, how her features were just as defined as Shingetsu's. She really did look like an inverted version of a grown up Harumi.

A memory tugged at the back of his mind. During the Chunin Exams, that moment in the Forest of Death, Harumi had died for a little bit and her hair had turned blue. Sasuke's eyes widened and he paled. Did Shingetsu misunderstand what happened or lied to him about it? Is that what happened to her? Did something blacken her heart like the curse seal had to her back then? Did Harumi ever really die? He hesitated – froze – eliciting a cry from Naruto as Miharu swung her arm down at him. It wasn't a fatal blow. She was just playing around with him. But she stopped centimeters away from his shirt, face screwed up from rage, eyes flashing from a dull yellow to a brilliant blue.

This really was Harumi in front of him. Or at least, it was her body, taken over by an evil second personality. "Harumi?" He choked out the name and it was then he realized his hallucination was no longer around. He dropped his sword, tears swelling in his dark eyes. Harumi's heart ached at the sight ad it gave her more strength to return to him, as herself. He reached a hand towards her and just as his fingertips brushed her cheek, the girl gasped, and for a moment, she could see Harumi as whole, before she smacked his hand away and jumped away.

Miharu was quick to realize that if this went on any longer, she'd be shoved into the dark corners of Harumi's mind again. "This is your doing!" She snarled. A Sasuke stopped mid-step, eyes widening. "We really did die you know! To help some _stupid_ girl save her _stupid_ boyfriend from his _stupid_ need to get revenge on his family's murderer! She only took that mission because that girl as doing exactly what Harumi had wanted to do but couldn't bring herself to!"

Sasuke stumbled and looked as though he just had his intestines ripped out; sick and in pain. Harumi roared her anger and screamed and Miharu to shut up. The darkness growing in Sasuke's heart, now caused the Darkness in Harumi's heart to be stronger and Miharu straightened up, grinning cruelly.

"What's worse, you gave her the burden of me! By allowing your curse mark to be enhanced to level 2, you consequently gave birth to me! You gave Harumi a tormentor she can never escape that will always be here, trying to lock her in the darkness. And with a little push from the Rebi and her own doubts about seeing you again, I was finally able to do it." Harumi released a wail at the look on Sasuke's face. He seemed to be having a hard time breathing with the weight of Miharu's revelations on his heart. _He_ was the reason she was suffering so much? _He _was the reason this thing now controlled her body. Noticing his weakness, Miharu threw a ball of blue fire at him.

Harumi's rage intensified and a golden fire enveloped her and quickly spread through the darkness. The hell she was just going to sit there and watch that something that starts with a B torment the person she loved most right in front of her. Sasuke's eyes widened when her body suddenly set a flame. He turned his face away from the blue flames, waiting for the cold so hot it burned fire to touch him, but he only felt warm. Pleasantly so. A warm he had come to associate with embracing Harumi and it brought a new wave of tears, pain from the nostalgia.

Deep panting and a stifled sob caught his ears and he opened his eyes. Golden flames danced everywhere, even on him, without burning anything. Tears were rolling down Naruto's face as the blonde tried to keep himself from totally falling apart with joy and disbelief. Sasuke turned to look at Harumi, his own tears falling at the sight. This time, it really was Harumi. Long golden hair that reached past her hips, tired, brilliant, hue-shifting blue eyes.

"Sasuke…" She breathed, fixing him with a look of utter adoration and longing, reaching her hand out to him. There wasn't a trace of blame or hatred in her countenance. Her eyes fluttered shut and Sasuke lurched foreward, unafraid of the flames he had to run through to reach her and caught her, sinking to his knees while holding her close. He buried his nose into her hair, the smell of vanilla and spices slipping into his nose – Harumi's scent. He checked her pulse, afraid she might have actually died. It was fast, but strong and her breathing was beginning to even out. She was just tired. She must have been fighting pretty hard to get control back and then there was Miharu wasting Chakra as well.

A shaking hand reached out for Harumi and Sasuke almost drew away, reluctant to let anyone touch his once thought to be dead fiancé. But it was Naruto. Naruto who had suffered just as much, if not more than him, due to Harumi's death. It would be cruel to not let him see the little sister he thought was dead for so long.

His fingers brushed some of her hair out of her face. "It's really her…" His shock gave way and more tears fell. "It's really her."

"Yeah…" Sasuke stroked her head and the leaned down, pressing his lips against her forehead. Alive. She was alive. The only thing that really mattered to him was here, in his arms, sleeping off exhaustion.

"Naruto…" Naruto looked at his best friend, sniffling. "…I- I'm taking her with me. It might be wrong to separate you from her, but I can't- I can't-"

Naruto nodded. "I understand. If Tsukino had an older sibling and I was in this position, I'd want the same thing. Just let her come back to the village to tell everyone else as well."

Naruto took her in, committing it to memory so that he would remember this was real, not a dream and then scowled. "What is she wearing?"

Her skirt was white and fluttery and short and her shirt was black with red lining, only had two buttons, cut low with a folded high collar, had no sleeves and exposed a lot of her stomach. She also wore white boots and some sleeves that matched her shirt, but that was it. Sasuke plucked the scroll out of her shirt and stowed it away in his shirt, no longer bothered about touching her.

_And with a little push from the Rebi…_

Sasuke gritted his teeth, determined to take that bastard and his pet monster out, no matter what, for doing this to her. He looked at Naruto and then disappeared, taking Harumi with him.

"Sasuke, wait!" Naruto called, but was ignored. It was hard and unnerving to put her down so that he could fight, but he managed it, certain no one would find her. He would come back for her and she would be here, alive, waiting for him. He gritted his teeth, gave her one more, quick kiss on the forehead and then hurried to where the source of the Dark Chakra originated from. It didn't take Naruto long to catch up, following him through the secret door he cut up and down the corridor, shouting at him things that didn't matter at the moment.

"Where's Harumi?!" That one, Sasuke deemed important, so he responded.

"Somewhere safe." Naruto nodded, satisfied. Sasuke stopped and looked down. Below, an odd cocoon held the Rebi and the old man stood close to it and the cylinder shaped room glowed blue. Naruto stopped beside him, taking in the room out of awe. Sasuke ignored the hand he placed on his shoulder. Shinno laughed loudly.

"You followed me down here! How stupid can you be!?"

"Who are you calling stupid!?" Naruto snapped, and Sasuke irately charged up his Chidori only to have it break apart and get absorbed by the Rebi. It let out an odd screech. "Look at that! Can't use your Chidori down here, can you?" Shinno mocked Sasuke. "This room absorbs Chakra to the Zero Tails to convert it to power. Now that you _morons_ are here, any Chakra you release will be absorbed as more fuel for our cause! Which means the two of you can't do a thing." Shinno laughed some more.

"Will you shut up already!?" Naruto growled and Sasuke sighed. It was quite clear he was as hot-headed as ever. Naruto jumped down to the floor. "I don't need chakra! I'm gonna take you down and I'm gonna do it with my two bare hands."

Sasuke landed beside him. If that was the way it had to be, then he would beat Shinno with his bare hands as well. His protective streak when it came to Harumi was back and several times worse. Nothing was going to hurt her. Not while he was around. And if they somehow did, they sure as hell weren't going to get away with it, no matter what he had to do to make them pay.

"If that thing absorbs all the chakra around it, were all at the same disadvantage." He pointed out. _'And you're at an even greater disadvantage with that old, weak body.'_

Shinno placed a hand on his abdomen, bruised from Sasuke's punch, half wondering what became of Miharu.

"You're both a bit slow to catch on. I didn't lead you all the way to the core, just so I could shut off your puny Chakra. Behold!" His dark chakra seeped into the Rebi, making it stronger. The webbing holding it up, wrapped around Shinno and absorbed him as a whole "Do you really think I'd mess with something as dangerous as a tailed beast just for a floating citadel?! It's bigger than that! Why is can obliterate the fiver great nations! It's equipped with the ultimate weapon of destruction!" Naruto was shocked while Sasuke remained unimpressed. The room lite up even more and then a large yellow cannon shot and destroyed the sky nation fleet, shocking the leaf ninja fighting them.

"That is the power of the land of Sky!" He exclaimed. "and after I've destroyed each of the five great nations, I will reign supreme over land and sky!:

"You're insane!" Naruto snapped, drawing kunai as Sasuke drew his sword. "You think we're going to allow that!" They ran at the cocoon.

"What fools!" Webs shot out as hand, trying to grab hold of one of them. Sasuke expertly weaved around the wiggling appendages and Naruto took them head on, trying to cut them up. More swarmed him, and he got caught between them for a moment and then one grabbed him around the waist and raised him up in the air.

"Sasuke!" Naruto called, wrestling with a hand. The distraction allowed the hand to overpower him and put him in the same position as Sasuke. Rebi-Shinno pulled Sasuke close, chuckling.

"I think I'll kill you first… _Sasuke."_ Sasuke stared at him dully; more irritated with being held like this than anything and how long this was taking.

"You maniac! Let him go!" Naruto demanded, trying to free himself. "Let Sasuke go! NOW!"

Rebi-Shinno swung them around violently and then slammed the two together, forcing their heads to butt. Seeing Naruto's strong reaction to the threat made him want to torment them a bit. Sasuke wished that Naruto would not provoke the enemy, just once, but he could also imagine Harumi laughing at the two of them. Rebi-Shinno laughed at them.

"What's the matter? Can't fight back without your chakra?" Rebi-Shinno taunted them. "You puny brats."

"Oh, yeah?" Naruto chuckled. "That's funny coming from you! You couldn't even handle us _puny_ brats without turning into some overgrown monster!" Rebi-Shinno shook with anger. "You really think you're touch, huh? Well, prove it!"

"You little! Fine! If that's what you want!" Several arms raced towards Naruto and crashed into the arm holding him up, creating a large cloud of dust. Sasuke was unfazed, certain that Naruto was still alive. His irritation increased when Shinno began ranting about his awesomeness again,

"This is painful to watch." He stated. "To think that someone who doesn't even know the limits of his own power can be the Sky Emperor… I mean, that's beyond pitiful. It's pathetic!" Sasuke's curse mark crawled over his body and the Rebi began absorbing his chakra and Shinno mocked him for it. Naruto caught on pretty fast and released all of the nine tails chakra. Naruto performed the Shadow clone Jutsu, forcing Rebi-Shinno to let go off him. Sasuke shut off his curse mark, seeing as though Naruto had it handled. Hands rushed to keep the on coming clones away. He failed to notice the two making a really powerful tornado Rasengan until it was too late. Although, Naruto's attack couldn't reach through a barrier that was put up to protect the Rebi. The swirling chakra freed Sasuke and he scanned the Rebi and the tall wall behind it with his chakra, seeking its weaknesses.

"I see. So that's how it is." He drew his sword. He jumped up. "This is over." He flew down in full curse mode form, Chidori running through his sword and he cut the wall behind the Rebi in two and Naruto's Rasengan broke through, slamming the Rebi into the wall and out of the cocoon.

"You're right about one thing. You damn well don't deserve to be called Doctor!" Naruto huffed, breathing heavy. From the large dent in the wall, Shinno groaned.

"I didn't think it would come to this." Shinno popped out of the Rebi. "No matter what… I refused to die."

"What?"

"Destroying that stone base releases the Rebi and it accumulated power from any sort of control." Shinno slithered through the air, still connected to the Rebi. It was really creepy. "You may very well be the lone survivor of the once mighty Uchiha Clan." Sasuke hardly acknowledged the freak. "And you may be the nine tails Jinjuriki, but you're still just a pair of worthless brats who don't have any idea watch you are doing."

"What are you talking about, you Lune." Naruto growled, very disturbed.

"Now that you kiddies have released the Zero Tails from my control, I have no idea what will happen next." With that, he went limp, still in the air and arms exploded out of him. Sasuke barely missed being crushed and Naruto flipped around, dodging all the wild arms. A boulder fell in front of Naruto and Sasuke landed on it and hopped back up to the corridor they came out of. Naruto called after him and Sasuke stopped at the entrance looking back as Naruto was swamped by arms. He debated helping him and then ran off. It was Naruto. He would be fine. Like he told Harumi back in the Land of Waves, 'idiots don't die easy' and he left her sleeping in this collapsing fortress. He had no time to waste on Naruto. He passed some Sky ninja that ordered him to stop, although, he of course didn't and then Naruto bust out of the wall, right where they were and gave chase.

Sasuke quickly, lost him, albeit, not intentionally. He was anxious about Harumi. This place was falling apart really fast and she could be in danger. He got there just as the part hanging over her fell and he tackled her unconscious frame out of harm's way and sighed out of relief.

_'Just in time.'_

He carefully picked her up and then hurried to where Naruto was only to find some little redhead arguing with him about getting in the boat.

"I don't care what you say! I'm staying with you no matter- aaahhh!" She screamed as Sasuke used one arm to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder into the boat, the other arm still cradling Harumi's teenage body against his. Not. Easy. It wasn't that she was heavy; she just wasn't as short as she used to be. Hell, it looked like she was even taller than Naruto now.

"Sasuke! Is that you!?" Hinata gasped happily.

"Shut up." He said, his attention wholly on Amaru, turning his body a fraction and Hinata's eyes widened.

"Harumi?" She whimpered.

"Yeah." Sasuke answered as Naruto pulled the lever. "She's back." Hinata covered her mouth with her hand, trying to hold back her sobs of joy. The boat was released, but arms shot out of the runway. Sasuke made a noise of irritation and the hurried to cut them down, still holding onto Harumi. He successfully cleared the runway, landing on it and watching the flying boat go to make sure nothing else happened to it.

"Hey, nice one!" Naruto called and the softly thanked him before throwing his Rasengan at the runway, separating Sasuke and Harumi from the Fortress. Sasuke turned around in shock, looking up into Naruto's smiling face, steadily getting smaller as he slowly fell. For a couple of moments, there was no sound and he watched Naruto mouth some words to him. Sasuke jumped off the falling runway and landed on the sail of sky boat, looking back at the Fortress Naruto was still on.

Hinata eyed the form in his arms and he jumped into the actual boat, allowing Hinata to greet Harumi's sleeping form. Hinata gave Harumi a tight, welcoming hug around the neck, a few tears slipping down her cheeks she quickly wiped away.

"Taking her with you?"

"Yes." He pulled her closer, as if Hinata might try to snatch his most treasured person out of his arms and forbid it. She only smiled softly and introduced Amaru to Harumi real quick. The redhead was stunned but happy for Naruto. He got is 'late' little sister back.

Sasuke jumped off boat, back in curse mode. He noted the discomfort Harumi was in and that her roots turned dark blue and he descended as fast as he could, also catching sight of all the familiar leaf ninja on the beach. Hopefully they wouldn't chase after him. Her ears twitched like she could hear their conversation and she smiled despite her pain.

He landed and quickly reverted to his normal form and noticed she relaxed and her hair returned to normal. He made a mental note to only use the curse mark as a last, last resort and for as short as possible. He didn't want her to have to suffer any more than necessary. He set Harumi down and then wrapped her up in his shirt, unwilling to let her walk around or be seen in such clothing, especially by other males before heading off, the love of his life sleeping soundly in his arms, safe and herself and alive.

* * *

Naruto was scolded by all the leaf ninja's on the beach but the words didn't ruin his good mood because all he could think about was… his little sister was alive.

"Guys…" They all looked at him. "I saw Harumi."

All of their eyes widened and their mouths dropped. "She was up there in the Fortress. Sasuke was there too." He sent the tearing up Sakura an apologetic look for having not brought him back. "He took her with him. I'm sure she'll be at the village soon, so let's all be ready to greet when that happens, okay?" No one knew what to say.

"He's not lying." Hinata added. "I saw them both to. Up close. Sasuke let me hug her before taking off with her. She's really… alive." She grinned at them through her tears and Sakura broke down and a smile stretched over Kakashi's lips, his hand coming up and slipping down his vest to grab the ring Harumi gave him and had worn around his neck and protected for the past three years.

* * *

"So, this is the scroll in which the Forbidden Regeneration Jutsu is written." Orochimaru mused, taking the scroll from Sasuke, while eyeing him. After all, he was still missing his shirt and it must have looked weird. Unless Orochimaru was just checking him out but he'd rather not think about that.

"You failed to bring back Shinno alive." Kabuto states. "Such an uncharacteristic failure. And where is your shirt? What exactly did your do on your trip?" Orochimaru raised an eyebrow curious as well, but quite certain Sasuke probably wouldn't explain. As expected, Sasuke just scoffed and turned away.

"Sasuke…" Orochimaru called after the doors opened. "Tell me… did something good happen to you? Odd. For some reason, I get that feeling." Sasuke left without saying a word and the doors slammed shut all on their own.

He returned to his training spot only to find Harumi wasn't there and panicked for a moment. Then realized, on the note he wrote her, telling he'd be back from Orochimaru's soon and to stay put, she's left her own note. She was just going into town – in his shirt – to get more suited clothing and would be back very soon. He clicked his tongue and waited on top of the waterfall for her to return, thinking of the other 'good' thing that happened today, besides getting Harumi back. Naruto's words;

_Sasuke, I promise. I'm gonna bring you back to the leaf. Take good care of her._

"Chidori Lightning Blade!" He started training again to pass the time. The lightning speed down the waterfall and danced across the water.


	3. Clearing The Air

**Disclaimer: Obviously, I do not own Naruto or any of the characters besides Harumi, and anyone who doesn't belong in the original Naruto plot**.

Harumi quietly walked through forest, enjoying the air. It wasn't nearly pure as Ryujin, but it was a pleasant reminder that she was fully alive again. She could go wherever she pleased with no fear of disintegrating into particles and going back to the afterlife. She smacked into a bare chest and instead of stumbling back, like she would have if she were still twelve, she merely stopped and the person fell down with a grunt.

Sasuke blinked up at her from the ground, a little perplexed. Harumi pursed her lips, trying not to laugh at the situation, but Sasuke's facial expression as making it really hard. "You _are_ aware I'm physically stronger than you, right?"

He laughed at himself a bit and then got to his feet. "Of course you are." His amusement slipped away and he stared at her with a neutral face, eyeing her. He appreciated her new clothes more. She wore a zip up pink and white top that only showed her collarbone with short sleeves and a folded collar with the back end stretching down further than the front and a pair of black shorts, about the same length as Miharu's skirt. Under her shirt was a tube top that had straps that crisscrossed over her chest and connected behind her back and she also wore flat, black ninja shoes with fishnets reaching up to her knees, white shin guards over that and her typical half-fingered gloves with a metal bar and fishnets on her arms with white arm guards over them. His own shirt was neatly folded and held in her arms carefully and she had a bag slung around her shoulders a sword hung from her hips. She of course still had kunai holsters on each leg over some bandages.

Harumi searched his face, trying to figure out what was going on in his head. "Talk to me Sasuke. What's up?"

"This is real right? Not… not another… hallucination." He had his doubts, although, the little Harumi that had followed him around all these years had never strayed from him like this one had.

"Another?" Harumi's heart ached again. "Oh, Sasuke…" She quickly closed the distance between them and pulled him into a tight hug. "I'm real. I promise and I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." She looked up at him with a sheepish smile and began to amend her statement. "Well, I'm not dying anytime soon, but I need to go see everyone else." He sighed.

"Thought you might say that." His hand caressed her cheek, pulling her a bit closer and he pressed his lips to the top of her head. Harumi's eyes fluttered eyes and she smiled. "It works in my favor anyway. I don't want you here when I finally deal with Orochimaru… just… stay with me for a couple of days first."

She rested her chin on his chest and smiled up at him. "No problem. That was the plan from the start anyway. Do you really think I could part myself from you so soon after finally seeing you again?" Sasuke let out a relieved breath. "Plus, I think we have some things we need to discuss."

Miharu's accusations and his own formed questions returned to his mind and he agreed. They definitely did have quite a bit to discuss. With an arm around her waist, he led her back to the cave behind the waterfall and they made themselves comfortable on the make-shirt bed.

"Where to start?" Harumi breathed, looking at the ceiling.

"How did you die? I mean, why did you go? You knew you would die, so why?" Sasuke questioned and Harumi winced. Not the conversation she wanted to have right off the bat.

She let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah. I knew. I was just… in a dark place. I wasn't thinking clearly and I… I felt so useless, so when that girl asked me to help her… help her do what I had wanted to do… I couldn't say no."

Sasuke swallowed the lump in his throat. "So, that much was true."

"I don't blame you for that Sasuke. It was my own decision. Besides, you're also the only reason I was able to come back to this world. You and my death… were all I could remember while I was there."

"Where is there? What happened to the rest of your memories?"

"I'm not sure. It was bright and warm and there was long rolling plains and a great Sakura tree." Sasuke didn't like the glazed over expression. It was almost as if she missed the afterlife. "They say, during the transition, your memories are locked away in order to help you settle in better; so you aren't longing for the ones that aren't there with you. Of course, those who are dead, remain in your memory. For instance, my mother. She was there."

Sasuke's head snapped in her direction. "Really?" He smiled a little. "So you got to meet her?"

A fond smile curled her lips and she nodded. "I got to meet your parents to; Fugaku-san and Mikoto-san." He stiffened, eyes growing wide. "Mikoto told me that you were lost and asked me not to give up on you." He leaned her head on his shoulder. "They really love you and they've never left you Sasuke." He slipped his hand into hers and lifted it, holding the back of her hand against his mouth.

"Are they doing okay?"

"Yes. It would seem so."

"Thank you." It was nice to know that, despite being dead, his parents were off in a better place and still together. He wondered if maybe his whole clan was together too, but was certain Harumi didn't know, so he asked a different question.

"How'd you come back?"

"The Dragon's resurrected me. They gave me the option of a second chance at life and I took it, even though I only had memories of my death and you. You were more than even motivation to come back." Warmth spread through Sasuke's chest and he felt his heartbeat change, not in an unpleasant way, for a moment.

"What were those doubt's _Miharu_ was speaking about? What _is_ **Miharu** exactly?" Sasuke pressed.

"I was afraid, you might've forgotten me or moved on… something like that…" She muttered the last part, feeling a bit ashamed and embarrassed, turning her face away. Sasuke pressed his lips into a thin line and then slipped an arm around her waist, effortlessly lifting her off the ground and onto his lap and pulled her into a long, passion-filled kiss.

"Don't ever say or think something like that ever again. I could never forget you or move on to another woman. Not ever. Not for any reason." He wasn't trying to be mushy. He was being completely serious. She curled into him, tucking her head under his chin and he secured an arm around her waist, liking her sitting in his lap better than sitting beside him.

"And Miharu?"

"She's me, and she's not me." Sasuke popped an eyebrow at her riddle-like answer. "Everyone says she's supposed to be my dark half, but there are significant differences between the two of us. And regardless of whether or not you got a curse seal, after furthering in my training, she would have popped up anyway. When a Dragon hits a certain point in power, which is very rare, a second – being – is developed. We're not really sure why. The curse mark just sped up the process, that's all, so there's no need to feel guilty about that either."

"But you're stronger than her right?"

"I… don't think so. I think the real reason it's easier to keep in control is because this is originally _my_ body. Only by gaining a significant advantage, can she actually take over. Otherwise, I think were even, in will and abilities. I can't grow stronger without her growing stronger, can't become weaker without her becoming weaker. And she has her own reasons for wanting to be the one in control. I don't think… I would have realized those things… without moving forward and training with her."

_"You make it sound like he grew up as siblings or something. Trust me, if I had my way, you wouldn't even be alive anymore."_

In spite of her cruel words, Harumi couldn't help but notice that all through her and Sasuke's reunion, she had remained respectively silent, not bothering her like she normally did. Harumi was grateful for it, though she didn't let Miharu in on that fact. Miharu might start causing a ruckus just to prove her wrong, but she made a mental note to start trying to get to know Miharu better.

"And using my Curse Mark gives Miharu that advantage, doesn't it?" Harumi solemnly nodded. It was the painful truth. The one thing Sasuke will have to feel guilty about that Harumi couldn't fix.

"I'll be fine. If you can, just give me a warning or open it in stages so I can better prepare myself for it, okay?"

"Okay." Sasuke softly replied. He would refrain from using it as much as possible, to lessen her suffering.

"No more questions?" She asked and he shook his head. At the moment, he couldn't think of anything else he needed an answer to. "Good. My turn. First off… did Shingetsu ever tell you his last name?"

"I thought it was Mochizuki?" He murmured.

Harumi shook her head, pushing further away from him. "That's my mother's last name. She is from the Mochizuki Clan." Harumi opened her eyes and instead of blue eyes, a golden Sharingan stared at him. "I think the color changed because of my being a Dragon Sage and Gold is the color of my Chakra."

"You're an Uchiha. You and Shingetsu are Uchihas." He looked so stunned and happy at the same time. He wasn't the last Uchiha. She blinked, her eyes returning to their original blue color. A grin stretched over his lips and he pulled her into another kiss. Harumi smiled against his lips, attempting to return the gesture of affection and then pulled away with a sigh. Sasuke's back straightened up and he frowned.

"What? What's wrong?"

"And Second, the more heavy topic… do you really have to do this Sasuke?"

Sasuke's eyebrows pulled together out of confusion. "Do what?"

"You know what." The look on her face was answer enough. Her question was about Itachi. Sasuke clenched his jaw, anger boiling his blood at the thought of his elder brother. "What will killing Itachi bring you Sasuke? What are you hoping to achieve? Killing him… won't make the loss of your family any easier. You love him." Sasuke opened his mouth to snap at her but Harumi didn't give him the chance. "Don't deny it. You adored Itachi as a child. There's no way in hell I'd ever believe those feelings disappeared over the course of one night. It's because you love him so much that it hurts so much. Betrayals by loved ones are always the worse kind – always cut the deepest. What he did… was awful… but there's no need to waste the rest of your life chasing after the person who ruined the beginning of it. Maybe… maybe he's just as lost as you… maybe, forgiveness will help him get back on the right track… and then you could have a member of your family back." Harumi knew that Itachi wasn't lost. He was an idiot, but not lost. She hoped that, if Sasuke expressed desire to keep Itachi in his life and verbally told the older Uchiha he forgave him then Itachi would drop this charade and come clean.

Sasuke said nothing. His eyes were screwed shut, eyebrows pulled together and he remained completely rigid. "Are you mad?"

"No. You can't stop loving someone, once you've started to. It's just how you are, so it's understandable that you don't want him to die and think that he can be saved, but I can't let it go, Harumi. I can't. I can't." He says. Harumi looked down sadly. She failed this time, but she wasn't going to give up. She'd bring the issue up again, hopefully with more success. "You're going to stay with me for a couple of days and then head to Konoha. In the time you're gone, I'll kill Orochimaru and then start assembling my team. I'd like it if you were with me…" He trailed off, waiting for her answer.

"I won't help you hurt him."

"I'm not asking you to fight him. I just want you to travel with me. The team is to hold off any Akatsuki members so that I can fight Itachi one-on-one."

"I can do that." She replied and he smiled a little.

"Then, in about a week, meet up with me at the Land of Waves. I have a feeling that's where we're going to end up." She nodded, committing the instructions to memory. "For now, let's just relax." And they did just that. They lazed around and Harumi showed off how much her swimming skills had improved and every night, Sasuke would listen to her point out the constellations. It was these moments that Sasuke seriously considered Harumi's words. In these moments, with her, he could forget all about Itachi. They were peaceful and he really believed he could live without his revenge, but the moment she parted from him, it all came rushing back and his vengeance was refueled with a new fire. He couldn't let go. He tried to before, but he just couldn't. In the process of getting his revenge, he would also be finally surpassing Itachi. On the third night, she fell asleep in the middle of pointing out the stars and he watched her sleep.

He wondered if she would be angry with him after he finally killed Itachi and how much it would hurt her to lose him. It was obvious she still cared a lot about him, and to lose him would cause her pain – mentally, emotionally and physically. Pain wasn't something he liked bringing to Harumi. In his eyes, she was the type of person who should always be smiling and happy and pain-free. And that's how he wanted to keep her. His heart was tearing in two. Before her, he had only one path in life and now she had created a second one he desperately wanted. He didn't know which one to follow

"You're making this so hard on me…" He murmured, burying his face in the crook of her neck and allowed himself to slip into a half-state of sleep, making sure to keep watch while resting up in order to keep her safe. His fear of losing her again ran deep. He wasn't sure if he could handle losing her a second time, hallucination with him or not.


	4. Home At Last

**Disclaimer: Obviously, I do not own Naruto or any of the characters besides Harumi, and anyone who doesn't belong in the original Naruto plot**.

Sasuke frowned as he watched her pull on her backpack. He didn't want her to leave, but it was that time. She'd be back soon… he hoped.

"Well, see you in a little bit." She murmured, slipping her arms around his waist. They remained in each other's embrace for several minutes and Sasuke realized she wanted to go as much as he wanted to go. He smiled at that thought and pulled her closer, afraid to let her out of his arms, let alone out of his sight and miles away. She returned the gesture, burying her face into the side of his neck. He was right about her being taller. The top of her head reached about up to his nose, as opposed to when they were kids and she only came up to his chest.

_"You're going to make me puke."_

Harumi let out a sigh and stepped away from Sasuke, a little annoyed at Miharu. Only a little. The rest was confusion. Miharu was anxious and somewhat excited about something, possibly pertaining to her journey home. It kind of unnerved her, but she kept it to herself, not wanting to worry Sasuke. She was a grown woman and a full-fledged Dragon Sage and she could take care of herself.

She opened her mouth to tell Sasuke 'see you later' but it left a bad taste in her mouth. Those words were so similar to the ones he had spoken to her days before she died and she was sure he felt the same way and goodbye felt much too permanent. "Goodbye for now." She mused.

Sasuke smiled at her a little, expression much less severe than her first days here. It was much warmer instead of stoic, like back when he was in the leaf village. "Goodbye for now." He echoed softly, reaching up to catch a piece of her bangs. He noted the difference between her younger self. Instead of spiking outward, they curled inward. It held a more mature look and suited her baby-fat-free, sharp featured face more. She made a noise of amusement at his odd habit before turning away. He let his fingers slid through her silken strands. It was uncharacteristically warm for it being hair and wondered by it was like that. He knew she was always warm, even in blizzards, but for it to apply to her hair as well? Was Tsukino's hair always cold too?

She walked a few steps, throwing Sasuke one last smile and wave before taking off, seemingly disappearing due to her newly acquired speed. Her first stop would be the Sand Village. She would want to stay in her home the longest and it was closest to her meeting up place with Sasuke than the Sand.

She had started off in the sky, simply running over the air and all obstacles, but as she neared the desert and the air became warmer she steadily got closer and closer to the ground, the immense heat taking its toll. It made no sense to her. She could stick her hand in fire or swim in lava and come out perfectly fine, but she couldn't handle hot weather? Harumi made a mental note to ask the Dragons about that when she got the chance.

By time she reached the gates, sweat plastered her hair to her skin and she was panting and her cheeks were flushed, her whole body overheating. She stumbled towards the gate, black splotches in her sight and then collapsed against the guard that had come out to greet her. The last thing she heard was him calling out: "Miss!"

* * *

"Kazekage-sama!" A young woman burst into the Kazekage's office, startling Temari and Kankuro. Gaara and Chizome, however, remained unfazed. "My deepest apologizes for the interruption!"

"None needed." He monotonously replied, easing the bowing brunettes worries. He took a second to take in her outfit. A medic Nin? "What is the problem?"

"Well, it's… just a few moments ago an unfamiliar blonde arrived the gates and collapsed from the heat. She was in a bad condition so we rushed her in for emergency treatment. We don't know if she is a threat or not and we couldn't find a headband on her person, but she is definitely trained and very strong. Her Chakra is immense, much like… much like…" She trailed off, shifting her feet nervously. "Much like yours… like a Bijuu's. We fear she may be a rouge. There are some ninja causing a ruckus, wanting to throw her in a prison for safety rather than treat her."

Gaara rose, a small frown pulling down his lips. He would settle the situation. The new arrival would be put under watch, but would remain in the hospital and treated, even if he had to stay there himself to give his people security and protect the defenseless outsider. Chizome trailed behind him, silent as far, like a shadow, keeping to her role of being his personal guard dog. Sure enough, there was a group of ninjas around the hospital some yelling, others trying to act calmly and logically, all wary of the strange newcomer.

"Stop this." Gaara ordered. He didn't raise his voice very much, but everyone closed their mouths and listened. "She will remain in the hospital and I, Chizome or both of us will remain here and watch her to make sure she is not a threat." It was enough to ease the anxious civilians and ninjas and the crowd slowly dispersed. "Show me to her."

The nurse nodded and scurried down the hall and too the patients room. There, said girl was immersed in cold water to quickly cool her extreme temperature. The nurses and doctors wore protective gloves and steam rolled off the girl's body from her too-hot-to-touch body in the ice cold water, still fully clothed.

He froze, taking in her appearance; long golden blonde hair, and a familiar face. Her equally gold eyebrows pulled together and her eyes slowly opened, revealing, hue-shifting, blue eyes.

"Harumi?" He could only stare at her. A nurse, a member of his fan club of two years, turned to him with doe eyes.

"Do you know her, Kazekage-sama?"

Gaara shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "No. No. Harumi… Harumi died. That can't be her." Chizome reached her hand up and placed it on Gaara's shoulder, trying to comfort him. She had heard a few stories about Harumi Uzumaki and knew just how important to Gaara she was. Gaara placed his hand over hers, accepting her gesture.

"Well, she's right here, so I suggest you get over it." The blonde stated, smiling at Gaara softly. She then splashed some water on her face and leaned back with a sigh-like groan, before sinking into the cool water. "Why do deserts have to be so_ hot_!?"

"That's not… how?" Gaara stammered, stunned.

"The Dragon's resurrected me." She splashed more water on her flushed face. With a flick of his hand, all nurse and doctors left the room, surprised. Chizome took in Harumi, a little surprised and happy she finally got to meet the female counter part to Naruto Uzumaki and then turned to leave as well to give the two reunited friends their space.

"Chizome…" Gaara called, halting the blackette in her steps. "Come meet, Harumi." A small smile graced her lips and she joined Gaara on the ground beside the tub Harumi was in.

Harumi turned her head to greet this 'Chizome' person she'd never heard of till now. She didn't miss the warm tone Gaara used to address her but all her air stuck in her throat. Never in all her life, had Harumi seen such a perfect looking human being. Like Harumi, her facial features were sharp, but looked so much more fragile than her own. Her skin was paler than Sasuke's, but still had more color than Orochimaru, the long black hair nicely framing her face. A pair of bright, ruby red eyes stared at her intensely, surrounded by thick, long lashes. Everything about the girl was perfectly proportional. Harumi had heard people refer to her as a porcelain doll, but they obviously had never met this girl. Her dark clothes only enhanced her dark beauty; a black hoodie with some red lines here and there and black capris that hugged her legs and a pair of flat, black, closed toed, ninja shoes, that reached halfway up her skin.

She was beautiful and held some very odd scents. Beneath Honey and roses, she could smell different kinds of blood, amongst them, Gaara's blood. Harumi raised an eyebrow at the ethereal girl, but asked no questions. Gaara was clearly fond of her and trusted her and vice versa, so she'd let them be.

"Hi!" Harumi greeted her and then held out her hand. Chizome reached up to take her hand, but knocked it against the tub on accident instead. She winced and shook her hand and then, with more caution, tried again with success. She was surprisingly clumsy. Harumi smiled at her kindly. Harumi couldn't help but notice, she didn't really have a temperature. It was more like she was the temperature of whatever she was just touching. Chizome's hand, which had previously been room temperature quickly warmed to match her own temperature. It was unnerving.

"Hello. It's nice to meet you, Harumi-san. Gaara-kun speaks very fondly of you."

_ 'So proper…'_

_ "Irritatingly so."_

_ 'Oh, hush.'_

_ "I thought we were going to the leaf?"_

_ 'What's there that you're so eager to see?'_

Miharu didn't respond and Harumi frowned. Naturally, she assumed Miharu was up to no good, yet, the girl had maliciousness coming from her.

"Are you displeased with me?" Harumi's head snapped up. Chizome seemed saddened by her own words but hid it very well.

"Oh! No, no no! I was just thinking, that's all!" She really didn't feel like re-explaining Miharu again. "Sorry. It's to meet you to…" she trailed off and then pouted. "I can't think of a cute nickname for you… Chi are already belongs to another friend…"

"I call her Zoe. You can use that." Gaara offered.

"Eh! How cute!~" Harumi chirped. "Zoe-chan!" The day continued like that and Harumi was offered a place to stay for the night at Gaara's. While exiting the building, Gaara informed nearby ninja to spread the word that the newcomer was an old friend of his come to visit. She got similar reactions from Kankuro and Temari, and they seemed a bit disturbed through the night, as well as a bit tense around Chizome, whom also resided at the Sand sibling's house,

In the morning, they saw her off at the gate, still holding an air of disbelief about them. She had wanted to see Masaru before going, but he was off on a mission and wouldn't be back for a couple days, along with his team. She couldn't wait for him that long, and with a heavy heart headed home, turning a three days trip into a couple of hour's trip.

She slowed to a calm walk when she neared the Leaf villages gates, taking in all in, comparing it to the memory she had of it when she was younger. It certainly didn't seem as big as it did before. She also noted a rolled up paper over the top of the gates and odd installments at the corners of the paper on top of the gate. She could feel the guard staring at her intensely. It put her on guard, and he scanned the area for anyone who might be sneaking around, trying to get in the village.

"It's her!" He exclaimed and she jumped and opened her mouth to tell him she was not an enemy, but she was cut off by a loud bang. The man had pulled a nearby string, dropping the rolled up paper on the gates and causing the mechanisms to go off. Fireworks shot into the sky and Harumi's eyes widened as she read the large banner.

**Welcome Home, Harumi!**

A large smile overtook her features. They had been waiting for her. Naruto must have spread the word that she was alive and coming home soon and this was how they decided to greet her as well as let everyone know when she was here. The first arrived, standing right at the edge of the gate. He looked exactly as she remembered him.

"Kakashi-sensei…" Harumi breathed and then closed the distance between them, pulling him into a tight hug. "Sensei…" Kakashi. The last person to see her before she died. The person who held her through her pain and fear and despair and then had to spread the bad news of her death. Kakashi who had shed to tears for her. Kakashi who lost two students in such a short period.

With shaking arms, pulled his student close. He thought he'd never see the bright, exuberant blonde ever again. He had failed to protect her and she died in his arms, but she somehow found her way back to them. She somehow came home.

"No more dying."

Harumi only laughed at the ridiculous statement. Everything died eventually, even those who claim immortality. Death doesn't like to be cheated by any means. "Well, I promise I'm not gonna die anytime soon."

"I suppose that'll have to do." He pulled away, looking down at her with his hands still on her shoulders. "Look at you. All grown up." He placed a hand on her head and rubbed. "You've become very beautiful and very strong. Like your brother, you've gone a surpassed me. I'm happy I was able to be your sensei."

Harumi reached up and placed her hand on top of his. "I'm happy you were my Sensei too. It was a lot of fun and Sensei is really admirable and fun!" Kakashi's eyes widened a bit. Naruto and Sakura hardly listened to him anymore and often poked fun at him for beginning in the hospital so much. Yet Harumi, probably the strongest in their group at the moment, still looked up at him with the same gleam in her eyes she had when she was just a Genin.

"You are so childish." He mused.

"HARUMI-SAN!" They parted, but not in the way the two going full speed had expected, so they slammed into Kakashi instead of Harumi, getting snot and tears all over the white haired man. Harumi laughed into her hand and turned her face away. "Harumi-san!" She gave Lee and Gai her attention as they looked up at her from the ground, sniffling. Kakashi lay underneath them, eyebrows upturned in a 'why me' expression. So much was coming out of their face it was both comical and really gross.

"Hello, Lee-san. Gai-sensei"

"It's really true…" Lee whimpered.

"You're alive…" Gai whispered, lips quivering.

"Well, I am standing right here."

"Harumi-san!" They lunged at her and she side stepped them, allowing them to slam into the gate.

"Lee-san, Gai-sensei… you look really gross and I don't want that all over me."

"LEE! GAI!" Tenten reached over and grabbed the two by their vest and started violently shaking them. "Get a hold of yourselves! This is pathetic! No one's going to hug you while you look like that!" Harumi laughed a little at the display, her heart swelling at the sight. It was good to be home. A hand landed on her shoulder and she turned to see Neji, a kind look on his face.

"Naruto has been spreading word that you are alive, backed by Hinata-sama, Shingetsu-sensei and Tsukino. I can't say anyone jumped on their wagon, but we had hope." He squeezed her shoulder and then let his hand drop to his side. "Welcome back."

"Thank you. It's nice to finally be home."

"Come. Those less inclined to believe you're alive won't come. Don't hold it against them."

"I won't. It's not like it's common for people to come back from the dead."

They left Tenten to deal with the overly emotional Gai and Lee. They found Naruto and Tsukino arguing with Ino, Kiba, Shikamaru and Shino. They couldn't just accept Naruto's word for it that she was alive and refused to go meet 'Harumi' at the gates, bringing out Naruto's temper. Hinata was there as well as Kurenai and Shingetsu and Chouji. Harumi didn't bother looking around for Asuma. She already knew she wouldn't find him standing around. He had died not too long ago – before she had even left the island.

"People don't come back from the dead Naruto! It just doesn't happen!" Shikamaru snarled.

"Well, I'm telling you it did!" Naruto snarled.

"Woah! Guy's! Cool it!"

"Who asked-!?" Ino trailed off when she laid on eyes on the woman that just spoke. The resemblance was uncanny.

"Harumi!" Naruto cheered and raced to her, he engulfed her in a hug, quickly joined by Sakura and then Shingetsu and Tsukino. Harumi waved Hinata over just as Gai and Lee arrive and they pulled Neji, Kakashi and Tenten in with them when they joined the group hug. Slowly, those reluctant to believe joined as well. Shikamaru remained at a distance, eyes closed as tears fell down his cheeks, head bent downward. A hand covered his face.

Harumi pushed them away as kindly as possible, and they made a path to him. She slowly approached him, a small smile on her face. The loss of Asuma had taken quite a toll on him. "She was right. Temari told me when we reunited that you would cry."

"The woman is such a drag." He muttered and Harumi pulled him into a hug, arms wrapped around his neck

"I'm home."

He pushed his forehead against her shoulder, screwing his eyes shut even more. She was alive. She was here. She came back. "Welcome home."

Her eyes then locked on two unfamiliar faces. They both had those creepy black eyes, but the one that had brown eyes had the creepiest eyes she had seen yet. It unnerved her. The other was eerily similar to Sasuke in appearance, but she was certain there was no blood relation.

"Who are you two?" Shikamaru wiped his face and stepped away from her, trying to reign in his emotions.

"I'm Yamato and this is Sai." The black haired boy gave her an – odd – smile and waved. "We are new additions to team seven. I replaced Kakashi for a bit while he was out of commission and Sai is replacing Sasuke." Harumi frowned at that and sent Kakashi a concerned look. Obviously, he was fine now.

"I see. Well, it's nice to meet you!" She held out her hand and they both shook her hand.

"You are very beautiful, Harumi-san. Inside and out." Sai said, that same weird, kind of creepy smile plastered to his face.

"Ah, thank you, Sai-san. You're very handsome yourself!" She returned the compliment graciously.

"Don't you already have a boyfriend!?" Ino called, sounding a little panicky. Harumi turned to her, eyes wide with confusion.

"Yeah… that reminds me, Kakashi-sensei! Do you have my ring?" He hand slipped out of Sai's.

"Of course." Kakashi pulled the silver chain off his neck and held it out to her. Hanging from it, was Harumi's engagement ring. She tenderly took it from her, holding in her hand like a precious jewel that would break easily before carefully taking it off the chain and slipping it on her rightful finger. Now, she felt complete.

"Now then, tell me everything that's happened so far!~" They sat down in the middle of the training ground and everyone spoke, telling some of their adventures as a team.

"So that's what happened to Gaara and Asuma-sensei." Harumi looked down sadly. "I'm sorry for your loss, Kurenai, Shikamaru, everyone." Naruto and Kakashi reached over and gripped her shoulder comfortingly. Asuma would never get to meet his child, or it – the gender was still unknown – grow up and the child would never get to meet his awesome dad.

Harumi turned to Kakashi. "When are you gonna get a girlfriend, Sensei? Isn't it about time you settle down and start having kids?" Kakashi flushed.

"Harumi…" He murmured, putting a hand on his face while Gai clapped his back and laughed loudly.

"I'm being serious! I wanna be the one who trains your kids!"

An odd sigh echoed in the back of Harumi's head and she realized, ever since Kakashi showed up, Miharu had been in a better mood – an unusual mood.

Now everyone was laughing at Kakashi's expense.

Harumi stuck her key in the door and slowly entered her and Sasuke's home. It had gotten awfully dusty over the past few years. She'd clean it tomorrow. She headed upstairs to their room and collapsed on the bed, happy to find that his scent still lingered in the sheets. She curled up in the middle of the bed, hugging a pillow to her chest and face before falling asleep.


	5. Executioner's Blade

**Disclaimer: Obviously, I do not own Naruto or any of the characters besides Harumi, and anyone who doesn't belong in the original Naruto plot.**

A week passed quickly. She hadn't mentioned a word of meeting up with Sasuke in the land of waves to anyone, knowing they'd want to follow her and try to capture him. Forcing Sasuke back to the village wouldn't be easy nor would he be very pleased with it. If Sasuke came back to the village, he had to do it on his own. Hunting him down would only cause unnecessary casualties. Unless his mind was changed, he would hunt Itachi to the ends of the earth in order to kill him.

Miharu wasn't very happy about it. She wanted to stay longer, for a reason she was heavily guarding from Harumi. It was irritating for the both of them. Harumi would pester her and Miharu would never answer her.

She left a note and a letter to each of her teammates, including Sai and Yamato, explaining who she would be with and not to bother with following her. She wouldn't leave a trail that would be easily followed and in the middle of the night, she took off, taking a detour to the land of waves as a precaution. She would stop at Tazuna's house; see if maybe they would put her up for the night.

In the morning, Kurenai went to visit Asuma's grave like she always has since his death, a bouquet of flowers in hand. She kept her eyes on the ground as she walked and stopped in front of his grave. At first, all she saw was the grave with her beloved's name inscribed into it. Then she noticed all the petals all around his grave and looked up, her bouquet slipping from her fingers.

Hovering over Asuma's grave was a giant flower, made of a bunch of white flowers, skillfully woven together. It wasn't just a single type of flower, but a bunch of different kinds and it glowed in the sunlight. Sai sat on the wall surrounding the cemetery for fall Shinobi, admiring the female Uzumaki's handiwork. He had heard she was an excellent builder and sculptor, now he had proof. Her praise was well deserved.

"Thank you, Harumi…"

* * *

Harumi raced through the air, anger coursing through her veins. Anger and pain from his betrayal and a deep amount of sadness from so much loss. How could he do that? She gripped her sword so tightly it began to cut her hands. Blood seeped through her fingers and dripped as she chased him down.

The carnage plagued her mind. How many had he killed? Nearly the entire village. How much had he destroyed? Everything. Even Miharu had been stunned into silence, knowing it was her safest bet, considering Harumi's mental stability. The faces of her loved ones flashed through her mind. Tsukino. Chouji. Pregnant Kurenai. Kakashi. Ino. Yamato. Toru. Naomi. Shingetsu. Sakura. Kiba. Shikamaru. Hinata. Lee. Tenten. Genma. Shizune. Sosuke. All of them slain by him. Some of them had missing limbs, others had been decapitated, all of them had horrid, fatal wounds.

"SASUKE!" Harumi screamed when her mate came into view and threw her sword at him. He moved to the side, turning, a smirk plastered to his face. Blood coated his clothes and hands. Even a few droplets were on his face.

She landed in front of him, tears falling down her face. She blinked furiously to clear her vision, and see through her tears. She opened her mouth to speak and then snapped it shut, violently turning her head away. There was nothing left to say. He had crossed the point of no return. Nothing could have him now and nothing could make her want to save him. He was too dangerous to be alive.

A warm hand gripped her chin and turned her head. Harumi thought that his hand should have been as cold as his heart.

"Hey. Hey." He whipped her tears. "Don't cry. It's alright." He pulled her into a hug. "It's okay now. Konoha got what it deserved." Making her decision, Harumi closed her arms and hesitantly wrapped her arms around Sasuke; putting both her hands up on her shoulders blades and putting her chin up on his shoulder. Her eyes locked onto her sword and she called it to her. Silently, it cut through the air, the blade sliding perfectly between her fingers, piercing Sasuke's heart and cutting through her throat.

Sasuke gasped his grip on her tightening. His eyes locked on the bloody sword sticking out of the back of his lover's neck. He could hear her gurgles and strained gasps for air.

"**NOOOO!**" Naruto landed beside the two and ripped the sword out of both of them. They both stumbled. Sasuke fell to his knees and Harumi just fell backwards, but Naruto was there to catch her.

"No. No. Not again. Please, Harumi, not you too. Please, please, stay with me…" He stroked her face, lips trembling as tears swelled in his eyes.

"Sorry…"

"You're not glowing. You're not dying. You're not."

"That's because…" She spluttered, blood, pouring out of her mouth and throat "…I… killed my… lover. There… is no more… sal… vation… for… me. I… mmm…" A strangled gasp of breath followed and then she continued. "… going somewhere… the rest of… you won't."

Hell. Harumi was going to _hell_ for killing Sasuke?!

"But Sasuke-?!"

"I…" He quickly quieted, not wanting to waste her last words. "…paved a pa-th… for him… to… paradise. His family… is weeping enough… as… it… is. Please… burn me. Good… bye… nii… nii." Her eyes closed and a heart broken wail ripped out of his throat.

Sasuke's face screwed up from raw pain. He would never see her again and despite all his transgressions against her and his wrong doings, she opened the gates to heaven to him, while caging herself in hell.

_What have I done?_

All Sasuke could hear was Naruto screaming out his beloved little sisters. He may end up in paradise but the knowledge of what he had done to Harumi would never leave him, and it would torment him for the rest of eternity, no matter where he went.

* * *

Harumi shot up in bed, covers flying off of her. Her lips trembled and she gasped for air, tears swelling her eyes. That was the future she had seen when she had looked. It became her goal in life to change that ending into something better, brighter. To save all of her loved ones.

She sat there for a while, settling her emotions and pushing that horrid future to the back of her mind. When she met with Sasuke, she couldn't be thinking of the manner in which he cut down all their friends. She wouldn't be able to interact with him properly and he would notice and ask questions she wasn't allowed to answer. Having the ability to occasionally look into the future meant taking on the responsibility of never sharing what one saw, no matter what. It could cause more harm than good. Harumi had no idea what lead to that outcome, or how to stop it, but she was going to try, starting with making Sasuke change his mind about Itachi, if she could.

After breakfast left with a warning she might not come back because might be here. Tsunami had barely touched her food, preferring to stare at Harumi while they ate, like looking at Harumi like she was a ghost. The woman had fainted upon seeing her; twice. Once when she opened the door and again when she woke up. Harumi wasn't really sure how to handle the situation. She just smiled and acted like herself. Tsunami steadily relaxed, but she couldn't stop from staring and she hardly spoke. Harumi was more than happy to escape the house and was sure Tsunami was relieved she was gone.

Harumi kept her nose to the air as she walked, heading for the 'Great Naruto Bridge', as the sign had indicated, but Sasuke had yet to arrive. She found the name to be interesting and it made her smile. Naruto had definitely left a mark in this land and its people. And it was clear that now that they were free of Gato, they were prospering. She lay down in the middle of the bridge, at the end connected to the land of waves, and resigned herself to waiting for him to finally show up. The light breeze ruffling her hair felt nice and she closed her eyes.

"What? This little place has ninja?" A voice asked and Harumi's eyes slid open.

"No." She could hear the smile in his voice and she shot up, a smile lighting up her face.

"Sasuke!" She hopped to her feet, still grinning. "Took you long enough!"

"Who is this chick?" Harumi's eyes locked in on the white haired male with Sasuke. He had purple eyes and all his teeth were pointy.

"Another member of the team." Sasuke said. "Harumi this is Suigetsu, Suigetsu, Harumi." He introduced the both of them for them. Harumi smiled and waved at him kindly.

"Well, hello there." Suigetsu slid up to her, a sly smile on his face, slipping an arm around her shoulders. "It's an honor to meet you."

"Suigetsu…" Said male looked into Sasuke's steely eyes and stiffened. "If you don't want to meet a premature end, I suggest you stop hitting on my Fiancé."

His mouth dropped and he hopped away from the curvy blonde, eyes locking in on her hand. Sure enough, there was an expensive looking ring on her left hand. "Whoa! I didn't think you the type to get hitched so fast!"

"Harumi is worth staking a claim on, no matter how early." Sasuke retorted, slipping his hand into hers. Harumi wasn't sure how to take that, but she would assume he meant it in a more romantic way than just owning her. "Let's go get your stupid sword." Sasuke kept walking, leaving Suigetsu to stare after them in astonishment and slowly a grin stretched over his face as a certain redhead came to mind.

_'Oh, this is gonna be fun.'_

They found themselves at the graves sites for Haku and Zabusa. Why? Harumi had no clue. The flowers that had been put around their crosses and had long since withered and died. Haku's sash was worn from the weather and hardly recognizable and Zabusa's giant sword was gone.

"It's not here." Suigetsu murmured and then turned around. "Sasuke, are you sure this is the right the place?"

"I am." Sasuke replied. He and Harumi stood a distance away from the graves, still in the shade of the trees.

"Well, it's not here, so what's the deal?" He asked, spreading his arms out.

"I don't know." Sasuke sighed and then got snappy. "Look, I'm not the grounds keeper. Don't ask me. If it's gone then someone must of taken it." He pointed out. It was then, Harumi realized Suigetsu wanted the sword.

"Well, yeah, of course. It's obvious. It's not gonna walk off on it's own." Suigetsu looked back at Zabusa's grave and a long stretch of silence followed until he turned away again, heading for the trees. "Sasuke, sorry, but since Master Zabusa's blade is gone, so is any chance of me joining your team." Together, the three of them walked back into town, completely silent. Harumi found the whole thing to be really awkward.

"What are you gonna do?" Sasuke asked.

"What else can I do?" Suigetsu retorted, arms casually crossed behind his head. "I'm gonna look for the sword. The blade of the seven ninja swordsmen of the mist was passed down from generation to generation. That's the tradition. I was all set to become one of those swordsmen. That's what I was training for. So it only makes sense that if master Zabusa is gone, the only one who should inherit his executioners blade." Just as he finished talking someone ramed into him.

"Watch where you're walking idiot." The somewhat familiar man snapped and kept going. Suigetsu whipped around and pointed a finger at him, opening his mouth to start a fight but Sasuke intervened, planting himself in between Suigetsu and the stranger, placing a hand on Suigetsu's arm to push it down. Unfortunately, the stranger noticed and turned around. His hair was a deep grey and purple lines stretched from his eyes a bit.

"What!? You got a problem buddy! Wanna make something of it!?" Sasuke slowly turned and started him down. The stranger froze, eyes wide. He stumbled back, muttering incoherently, turning to go on his way. "Just watch it." His voice wavered and briskly walked away. "Man, I'm telling you this place is crawling with idiots."

"Man, you're way nicer than I am." Suigetsu's eyes flickered to Sasuke. "Sooo, it looks like you owe me for not starting trouble. How are we… gonna settle up?"

Harumi found herself squished between Sasuke and a wall in a little shop she was certained hadn't been here the last time they were here, where Sasuke treated Suigetsu to some yogurt. He was currently on his seventh one. Sasuke ordered himself a green tea and Harumi got a piece of cake and a mocha. She gripped her fork tightly, trying to ignore the four girls giggling over Sasuke instead of doing their jobs while Suigetsu enjoyed his yogurt with an excessive amount of enthusiasm.

"Man, this yogurt is so great! It's been ages since I've had anything this good. I was locked in that tank for _way_ too long!" Suigetsu gasped and Harumi raised an eyebrow at him, completely lost.

"Is that why you're wasting my time now?" Sasuke retorted, irately.

"How should I put this?" Suigetsu says, waving his spoon at Sasuke. "You're the one in such a hurry Not me. Why are you putting a team together anyway? Just what are you up too?"

"I'll fill you in once the whole team is assembled." Suigetsu's looked away thoughtfully, making a dejected noise in the back of his throat and then looked at Sasuke with flourish.

"Hey! Let's conquer the world! You're not going to say something like that are you?" Suigetsu suggested.

"If you want to conquer the world do it with your own team." Sasuke says. "I'm after something bigger. Something much bigger." Suigetsu hummed out of confusion and scratched the back of his head with his spoon before dropping his arm onto his knee.

"If anyone else said they wanted something bigger than the whole world, I wouldn't believe it." Suigetsu murmured, eyeing Sasuke. "But I don't know. When you say it, I start to think that maybe such a thing is really possible… it's weird."

A waitress slowly approached the table, another yogurt for Suigetsu, as well as a another cake for Harumi, this one was a red velvet instead of chocolate, eyeing Sasuke with a blush.

"Oh hey!" Suigetsu greeted to her. "I have a question for you." Sasuke wordlessly scooped Harumi's cake off the platter and set it down in front of her. "You know the Great Naruto Bridge? You ever heard of a large sword being found near there or where it might be now?"

"Sword?" she answered with a nervous, wavering voice. So shy, just speaking in front of the attractive Uchiha was hard. "Yeah, I may have heard something about that once." She glances at Sasuke from the corner of her eye before giving Suigetsu her attention again. "Why?"

Suigetsu pointed his spoon at Sasuke. "He's looking for it." Suigetsu swiftly snatched up his yogurt from the platter. "He'd _really_ appreciate the help." Harumi's eyes narrowed at the snow haired male and she crossed her arms.

"Really!?" she jumped, nearly dropping the circular metal plate in her hands. "He would!? Maybe someone else knows! I'll go ask right away!" She ran off and two seconds later they all started squealing.

Suigetsu saw the deadly look Harumi was giving him and raised his arms in mock surrender and Sasuke smirked out of amusement. "Those girls really like him!" He tried to justify his actions. She was made for two reasons. The first was that she was tired of seeing girls drooling over her Fiancé and the other was she didn't like Suigetsu manipulating those girls by their feelings. It wasn't right. Then they were back, leaning too close to Sasuke for both of the former leaf shinobi's comfort.

"We know, who might know, you know?!" They gushed. Harumi could practically see hearts throbbing around them. Sasuke had attracted quite a bit of attention from girls as a pre-teen, but now he had filled out and become even more handsome and girls off all ages would stop and stare at him as he walked, ways to get his attention zooming through their heads. It was vexing! She only hoped that after the two of them were married and Sasuke walked around with a kid on his arm they would control themselves more or she might it that point where she'll start making them. It's not like she drew that kind of attention. "Tazuna! He lives by the river! Yeah!"

"Tazuna, huh?" Sasuke breathed, uncertain if he really wanted to go see the bridge builder his team had protected for their first actual mission. He would surely alert Naruto of his whereabouts and then a team from Konoha would be sent. He didn't want to have to deal with anything unnecessary that would cause detours, especially while he didn't have his team fully assembled.

"He's not there." Harumi cut in and the girls hushed themselves.

"He's not." She shook her head. "He and Inari went off to the land of lightning to build a bridge. I was staying in their house with Tsunami while waiting for you to get here." Suigetsu sighed out of annoyance and leaned back in his chair.

"One of the workers might know something though." She offered and Sasuke nodded and Suigetsu perked up.

"Let's go!" She slurped up his yogurt and Harumi narrowed her eyes again and pointed her fork at him.

"_I_ have a cake to eat. So keep your ass in that seat."

"Yea ma'am." Suigetsu's eyes were big and he was very stiff. He hadn't thought such a pretty girl could look so scary. No wonder they were together. There probably wasn't another man in the world that could handle her and actually be worthy of her affections and vice versa. She stabbed her cake violently and harshly shoved it into her mouth and chewed with vigor. Her head whipped back to the four waitress staring at Sasuke.

"What?!" She snapped and they jumped. "Don't you have a job to be doing? Stop ogling my Fiancé!" The girls' mouths dropped, eyes growing in size. She pointed her fork at Sasuke in an accusing manner. "And you! Pull your damn shirt together!" She stabbed her cake again, plopping it into her mouth and roughly chewed, eyes closed. The waitress quickly scampered off. Sasuke was a little stunned by her sudden outburst. He'd forgotten how short her temper could be. His lips curled upwards.

"Harumi…" He called and she turned to him, an angry, half-pout of an expression plastered to her face. He slipped his hand under her jaw, making sure she kept her mouth closed and leaned down, pressing his lips against hers. She gasped a bit and then settled into the kiss. He pulled back and leaned into his seat, smiling a bit and she returned her to cake, eating it almost meekly with a blush coating her cheeks. Out of respect to Suigetsu, she refrained from pulling him into another kiss and keeping him there.

* * *

"So who is this Tazuna guy?" Suigetsu asked as the trio walked along the river towards Tazuna's work shop.

"The carpenter who built the Great Naruto Bridge." Sasuke answered. "Hey." He called and the man that was sawing away turned to them. "Maybe you can help us. Have you heard of a blade left near Great Naruto Bridge." The man wiped some sweat off his face with a towel that hung around his neck.

"Oh, that old thing?" He mused, eyes trailing over to Harumi for a moment, making Sasuke tense, and then finished explaining. "Sure. Tenzen Daikoku took it. He came here to fight the ninja who wielded that blade, but once he found out the ninja was already dead, he just took the sword and left." Suigetsu listened to the explanation with a raised eyebrow in disbelief. It was getting ridiculous. They returned to town.

"This is just getting harder." Suigetsu sighed, rubbing his head. "Now we gotta find Tenzen. He was an aid to the feudal lord of the land of water. Apparently a whole lot of his men back when master Zabusa staged his crew in the hidden Mist village… and I guess he's held a grudge ever since." Once again, just as Suigetsu finished talking, someone smacked into his shoulder. It was even the same guy.

"Hey! Why don't you watch where you're going, loser!" Harumi looked him up and down, trying to place where she had seen him.

"How lucky!" Suigetsu exclaimed. "You are just the guy we were hoping to find." He suddenly got scared and tried to run off, but Suigetsu grabbed the back of his jack and threw him into a nearby alleyway. The three of them surrounded him.

"Who the hell are you!? What do you want from me!?" It finally clicked. He was the guy that tried to kidnap Tsunami for Gato and almost killed Inari that Naruto defeated while she was off shopping for Tsunami and her eyes hardened.

"You just look someone who knows all sorts of things." Harumi released a snort.

"Look! I don't know anything about Tenzen, okay!?" He cried, inking further into the trash.

"Tell us what you do know." Suigetsu demanded with a smile, that one tooth poking out on the left side of his mouth. "Anything will be fine." He raised a kunai. "But don't make me ask you twice." He swallowed nervously. "Well?" Suigetsu pressed.

"Okay, okay, I'll talk." He finally agreed. "Tenzen is a politician, but that's not all he is. He's also a leader of a large band of thieves." Harumi's nose scrunched up in distaste. "I hear that he deals out huge bribes left and right and because of that, the feudal lords left him do whatever evil things he wants."

"See? You know a lot!" Suigetsu chirped, as if he were trying to convince the thug he was intelligent. "So, where does he live?"

"His place is to the south; deep inside the forest. Rumor has it that several thousand mercenaries guard it. It's supposed to be impenetrable."

The next morning, Harumi, Suigetsu and Sasuke watched a horde of mercenaries arrive at the castle from the up on a cliff, the three of them hiding behind bushes. "Aw, man. What in the world is going on now?" He moaned.

"Apparently a rival clan plan's to attack Tenzen's castle tomorrow with an army that ranges in the tens of thousands." Sasuke informed them.

"No way." Suigetsu protested. "Are you just making that up?" Seeing Sasuke's face, he sighed and rubbed his head. "Alright fine. The more confused the enemy is, the better my chances. Whether it's one opponent or tens of thousands, it doesn't really matter to a ninja like me. I'll sneak in and steal the executioner's blade right from under their noses." He declared.

"Alright." Sasuke said. "How about a little wager?"

Suigetsu turned to Sasuke with bug eyes, taken aback by the question. "A wager?"

"A competition to see who can get the executioner's blade first." He elaborated.

Suigetsu laughed, a wide smile stretching over his face. "Never in a million years would I have expected you to have a playful side, Sasuke!"

Harumi smirked at him. "You have _no_ idea." Suigetsu's eyebrows raised even more, and the prospect of traveling with these two was become even more appealing.

"Alright. Let's do it. Sounds like my kind of fun."

"Then we start now." Sasuke says and then adds. "But there is one rule Suigetsu. Don't kill anyone. Harumi stay out of it." She gave him the universal sign of 'ok' and laid back on the ground while Suigetsu's face fell.

"I'll wait here." In the next instant, Sasuke was gone. She spied him kicking a thug of his horse and landing on its back through the bushes, riding the creature while standing upright and drawing his sword. She smiled, shook her head and closed her eyes, resigning to relaxing for a bit.

"So now…" Suigetsu says. "…means starting right now?" Suigetsu hurriedly joined Sasuke, getting to the bottom by the time he had defeated all of them. At some point, she heard Suigetsu get abandoned by Sasuke as a bunch ore thugs rushed out, leaving him to deal with them on his own, as a means of testing his abilities. Honestly, he was doing far better than Harumi had thought he would. She didn't think him that strong at first, but clearly, she was wrong.

When she heard the house starting to collapse, she quickly made her way down to the road and met them there.

"Is this okay?" Sasuke was looking at her. "I can go back in there and save him." She blinked at once. Twice. Thrice.

"Oh." She waved a dismissively. "No. I don't care about that thug. He's no better than Gato." Sasuke nodded.

* * *

"You know, as long as I have this blade, I could defeat even you." He trailed off. "Well, maybe." They had already made it a good distance from the Land of Waves, walking at a constant pace. Suigetsu was to Sasuke's right and Harumi was on his left, hand in his hand. "Hold on. You know I was gonna go after this blade even before you freed me, didn't you?" Suigetsu accused him. "And wait… and you also knew from the start that the blade wasn't at the grave site anymore." Suigetsu stared at him for a moment and then smirked. "Of course. And the one who told that guy his castle was going to be attacked and got him to gather all of his men together was _you_. Tenzen acted like he met you before and I don't think that was a lie.

Hey wait. Did you suggest that wager just to get me to go into enemy territory with you? Was this your way of testing me? It was, wasn't it?" Suigetsu chuckled. "Man, you're _terrible._ I could have gotten seriously hurt doing that. Well, at least now I understand exactly what kind of person you are and you're pretty much exactly like I imagined you'd be." Sasuke just stared at him, not really caring if he deduced his actions or thought he understood him or not. "Either way, I got my blade, so I'll help you just like I promised. Now what? Which way do we go? No wait! Let me guess. Whichever path it closest. I bet that's what you were going to say, isn't it? I'm starting to get inside your head Sasuke."

Harumi raised in eyebrow at the amethyst eyed boy. _He's quite the talker…_

Sasuke scoffed, but agreed. "Yeah. Let's take the closest path."

**A/N: Sorry it took so long. I had graduation wed. and then I went to my sisters until saturady to hang with my grandma and my dad that came all the way down from michigan to see me, and I didn't have computer and Saturday was my graduation party, so I've been busy. Recently, I've been asked if it would be okay to draw Fanart of my story. If there is anyone else wondering this, by ALL means, draw me fanart! I would love that!~ Let me know if you do! I wanna see it. Just link back to the story or something!**


	6. Guardian of the Iron Wall

**Disclaimer: Obviously, I do not own Naruto or any of the characters besides Harumi, and anyone who doesn't belong in the original Naruto plot.**

Naruto scowled down at the note in his hands, eyebrow twitching. No one knew where Harumi was and so they went to Sasuke's house, where she had been living, only to find letters for team seven on the kitchen table, informing them of her departure to a 'mysterious' place where she'd be meeting up with Sasuke and that she'd be traveling with him for a bit. There was more in each letter that made it more personal. His aggravation got the best of him and then he ripped it up and screamed.

"HARUUMMIIIII!" He wasn't angry, angry with her. Just a little irritated. He had half expected her to disappear. He just didn't think it would be so soon.

"When do you think she'll come back?" Yamato asked.

"Whenever she's done doing what she's doing with Sasuke. Hell, maybe she'll bring him home with her." Naruto replied, still feeling a little cross.

"Do you think she'll come back pregnant?" Sai asked and Naruto blanched, gripping the table and Sakura punched Sai.

"Idiot."

* * *

Harumi sneezed, a small little timid 'ack', followed by a high pitched 'chuuuu'. Suigetsu chuckled at her. "How cute!~" He teased and she stuck her tongue out at him. They were getting along fairly well. During the walk, she had told him stories about team seven's missions and such, including the one of how Sasuke proposed, which lead to him teasing Sasuke for 'being a sap'.

"Bless you." Sasuke says.

"Thank you."

"Someone might be talking about you." Suigetsu says.

"Our team probably. They must have noticed I snuck out by now." She replies, half wondering if they were mad at her. Mostly likely. Suigetsu fell silent, but Harumi was certain it wouldn't be for very long. He talked more than Naruto. Her eyes swept over the vast ocean. Water still unnerved her and impaired her senses. They had left land behind quite a bit ago, heading for an island not too far off the coast. It was a beautiful day and the seagulls cooed pleasantly over in the distance.

"Can I ask you something Sasuke?" Suigetsu questioned.

"What is it?" Harumi was a bit surprised he didn't sass him.

"Why are you dragging a team together?" It wasn't the first time he had asked that and Harumi wondered if Sasuke was going to answer him this time.

"Because I have a goal and having a team will help me reach that goal faster." He finally answered and Harumi let out a sigh of relief. She won't have to hear that question again. "Ever since I joined up with Orochimaru, I've been preparing for when this would happen. I have been carefully selecting the most powerful Shinobi that catch my eye."

"Huh…" Suigetsu murmured and then threw out his hands, palms turned to the sky. He seemed somehow dissatisfied. "Okay, but I'm still not sure why you'd choose Karin. You could do better. I mean, unlike me, she was one of Orochimaru's followers. She's the warden of the whole south hideout where Orochimaru kept his test subjects locked up." Harumi gritted her teeth, her hair spiking up in an animalistic way. She already didn't like this 'Karin' girl."

A lone seagull swooped down and flew in between Harumi's and Sasuke's heads, before sharply veering up into the sky again. "Though she claims she was only following Orochimaru's orders, she personally experimented on me many times. But most of all I don't like that personality of hers." Harumi burst into flames momentarily, frightening Suigetsu, whom was made of water and he hopped away. Sasuke remained next to her, confident Harumi wouldn't hurt him even if she was in a rage.

"Are you certain we need her?" Harumi asked, her tone cold and clipped.

"Yes. There may be plenty of other Shinobi that are just as strong and far easier to handle, however, she has a special ability. One that no one else I know of possesses."

"That's true." Suigetsu agreed and Harumi's lips turned down unhappily. With each word, she had wanted less and less to do with whoever they were talking about. A loyal follower of that slime ball Orochimaru, keeper of all his experiments, tortured people herself… She was definitely not Harumi's kind of person, special ability or no. There was also the possibility she was a fan girl as well. "I guess she's got that going for her." A twisted rock like structure had rose in the distance and had to be the smallest island she'd ever seen and it was their destination. If you wanted to hide a prison for experiments, out in the ocean on the tiniest island imaginable with just looked like rocks was probably the best way to go.

* * *

Inside the hideout a girl with glasses, stared at the table in a room dimly lit by the sun shining through the window. She sniffed and then licked her lips.

"What a nice smell." She purred and then frowned. "But also, there's that foul stench and that other chakra…" It wasn't her first time encountering that kind of Chakra, but it was far better; purer, raw and brimming with life.

* * *

They finally reached the island and entered a cave which led into the main building. The cave only went under the wall in front of the prison, hiding it even better and they headed straight from some iron doors buried deep in more rocks.

"I can't believe how little security there is." Suigetsu murmured, glancing around the vacant area. Not a person in sight, but there was heaps of dug up earth put in mounds and Harumi tensed. "They should at least build a fence or something."

"She has this place under complete control. There's no need for anything else." Sasuke replied. There's was no reference in his tone, Harumi noted, and smiled a bit. She couldn't help that nagging feeling that Sasuke might have moved on or attempted to and it kind of bugged her. He knew this girl by name and was obviously impressed with her abilities. Sasuke hardly ever paid attention to other people, especially not girls.

"It's too quiet here. I don't like it." Suigetsu muttered, frowning. "Right, Harumi?" She smiled her but all he got was a blank expression ad raging eyes. He swallowed and turned back around. "It's starting to make me wonder if word of Orochimaru's death has reached here already."

They stopped in front of the large doors. Suigetsu and Sasuke stood in front of Harumi, close enough that she couldn't stand between them. Both expected the other to do something and waited until Sasuke turned and looked at Suigetsu expectantly. Suigetsu noticed the look and jerked back.

"What?"

Sasuke said nothing just turned a bit more to look at his sword, conveying what he wanted with his eyes. Suigetsu followed his gaze for a moment, before looking back at Sasuke. Harumi's eyebrow twitched, her irritation rising.

"You have a sword too, you know, Sasuke." He commented, pointing at Sasuke's sword as if it had offended him somehow. It was irrational, but her anger spiked at his gesture towards the sword she had bought Sasuke. Once angry, even the smallest of things could deepen her rage. Sasuke looked back at the door.

"Yours is better suited to this task." Suigetsu scowled.

"Amaterasu!" Harumi exclaimed and swiftly pushed both males out of her way. "Move." They both stumbled away, shocked by the outburst. She placed her hand on her sword and swiftly drew it and then replaced it, or, at least, that's how it looked. "There!"

"Uh… the doors-" Suigetsu opened her mouth to tell her the door was still perfectly fine, but then it fell apart, completely demolished into tiny little squares. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"**What** was that?"

"Nothing!" He squeaked. She shot Sasuke a nasty, suspicious look and then strode inside. A laugh echoed her head.

'_I just love it when you're all high strung'_ Miharu snickered. _'It's so amusing'_

Harumi didn't bother with telling her to shut up. Instead she poked back. "_Were you looking at my memories of Kakashi-sensei, again?" _As expected, Miharu shut up. Harumi could feel some irritation amongst the large amount of embarrassment rolling off her.

"What the hell just happened?" Sasuke asked and Suigetsu shrugged.

"Women are sensitive and YOU…" Suigetsu pointed at him using both hands while stepping over the rubble, grinning at him. "…obviously did something to piss her off." Sasuke frowned and followed after them, trying to decode what he had done to Harumi.

Harumi sighed, a little upset with herself for letting her temper get the best of her. She didn't even know if there was anything going on between them. It was speculation deeply supported by her current insecurities. She'd apologize for her behavior later. She hadn't realized she slowed her pace and that Sasuke caught up. He craned his neck to see her face and didn't like what he saw; eyebrows furrowed, lips pulled down, eyes dark. Something was definitely bugging her.

A die rolled out of the cell and Harumi stopped, bending to pick it up. She had been so lost in her thoughts she hadn't noticed they were passing a group of prisoners. The face that met hers had dirty blonde hair and was very dirty with some bandages wrapped around his head. His eyes widened at the sight of her and a small blush coated his cheeks. Fearlessly, she reached through the bars and placed, cupping his hand in hers while using the other to place the die in his palm. She then clasped his hand in hers and smiled at him brilliantly. To Harumi, the smile the same old, ordinary one she smiled every day. To the prisoner, to all the on looking prisoners, it was like a ray of sunshine breaking through the darkness and illuminating them. It was the smile of an angel. Hope.

"Don't worry. Everything will be okay soon." She breathed and then stood and followed after to other people he hadn't noticed before; an unfamiliar white-haired male and THE Sasuke Uchiha.

"No way!" He whispered. "That's Sasuke Uchiha!" More prisoners hopped up from his their spots and hurried to the cell bars to sneak a peek.

"Why's he here?"

"And with that girl?"

"And why now?"

"It's been ages since we last saw him here with Orochimaru."

The one who had been touched by the 'angel' gasped and looked at his fellow prison mates. "That's it! Why _isn't_ Orochimaru with him? And why is Sasuke with some stranger and an _Angel_? I think the rumor we heard was actually true after all! Orochimaru's finally dead!"

"Of course," A different prisoner spoke up. He had wild, spiked up greyish hair. "Sasuke must have really killed Orochimaru and now he's come here to grant us all our freedom at last!"

"Idiot!" Another hissed. This one had shaggy brown hair. "You don't really believe all that stuff do you? I mean, can Orochimaru even die?"

"You heard the angel!" The first one snarled. "Everything will okay soon! She said that!" He looked down at the hand she had held. "She was so warm, in so many ways… and her _eyes_…" That hushed them all. Doubts still lingered, but they weren't voiced. All of them resigned to waiting. Wait to be freed, wait to abandoned.

The trio came to a stop when a girl with an unusual hair style. Part of it was short and spikey, seemingly unkempt while the other side was longer and straight, then edges only spiking, giving it a more neat look. Her hair red and equally red eyes glared at them from under a pair of glasses. "I knew it was you…" she sneered. "Sasuke."

Silence stretched on as Sasuke and the redhead Harumi was assuming to be Karin had a stare off. She didn't seem to be particularly fond of Sasuke and it was relieving. She really didn't want to deal with a fan girl while traveling with Sasuke. "Sasuke… if you're here by yourself, that can only mean one thing… the rumors about Orochimaru death are true."

"Uh, Hello?" Suigetsu sighed, irritated. "We're standing right next to him, you know."

She completely ignored him, but her eyes slid over to Harumi for a fraction of a second, whom stood on the opposite side of Sasuke to Suigetsu. "Well, why have you come here, Sasuke, strange woman?"

Harumi's ears twitched and her eye brows rose. So the other girl was acknowledging her, huh? Just not Suigetsu, which seemed to be pissing him off.

"Sasuke came here because he wants to talk to you." He moved foreward, planting himself in between Sasuke and Karin to block her view of him. "But we don't want to stand and talk so take us to a room where we can sit. Okay? I'm tired. I haven't walked this far in a long time."

Karin tilted her whole body to look around Suigetsu at Sasuke, still ignoring him. "You wanna talk? Talk, Sasuke."

Suigetsu's eye twitched and he stomped towards her. "I said we don't want to do this out here in the hall! So just take us inside right now! Don't think I don't know that you're just trying to ignore me here, Karin."

She just 'hmphed' and then leaned forward and sniffed, making Suigetsu's eyebrows raise up in surprise. "You're unpleasant."

The surprise quickly gave way to anger. "You're not so pleasant yourself!" He snapped. Sasuke reached for Harumi's hand and then quickly drew back, uncertain if it would set her off or not and then walked forward, hoping she would just follow. Harumi noticed the gesture and her heart contracted. He wouldn't grab her hand in front of Karin. Harumi's hands curled into fists and her lips pressed together tightly and her doubts and insecurities grew.

"Listen, just knock it off, Karin. Take us to a room now." Sasuke demanded. Karin stared at him for a moment and then relented.

"Alright, come on." She swiftly turned on heel and strode away. Sasuke followed after her instantly. Suigetsu hung back a moment to scowl at the girl but quickly snapped out of it when passed him, looking really upset.

"Hey, are you okay?" It took her a moment to respond and all he got was an excessively bright smile and an 'I'm fine!'

"Now, I _know_ you're not okay." He retorted. "That was waaaaay to much sunshine, even for you. I mean, I could even see sparkles!" He made an unusual and flabbergasted expression and Harumi let out a weak laugh. She was amused by his antics and very touched that he would try to cheer her up but she wasn't in the mood to laugh. Sasuke looked back and frowned just as Harumi murmured a 'thank you' and Suigetsu wrapped his arm around her in a quick, comforting side hug.

They entered a room. Sasuke sat at one end of the couch, arms splayed out in a welcoming manner, his sword leaning on his arm. He had been hoping Harumi would come and curl up next to him, but no. Instead she leaned against the edge of the couch next to where Suigetsu had sat, her arms crossed.. His sword had been placed behind the couch and was leaning on it, the guard touching Harumi's shoulder. Sasuke bit back the words he wanted to snap and swallowed his anger and got down to business with Karin.

"Karin. Come with me!" Sasuke demanded. "I need you on my team." Suigetsu mentally chided Sasuke for his choice of words when the blonde next to him tensed. He was somewhat starting to get where her attitude problems were coming from.

"Oh, really? Why would I go with _you_? I have responsibilities! I run this place!" Harumi bit back the words she wanted to snap at the other girl and glared at the ground.

"Orochimaru is dead is gone now." Sasuke pointed out.

"So?" Karin sneered, throwing her arms out, almost as if to say who cares. "There are still prisoners here!"

"Speaking of which…" Suigetsu interjected. "They were awfully quiet when we walked by them. They must know that Orochimaru is dead. That news _had_ to have reached here by now." Karin didn't say anything, and this time, it seemed it wasn't just to pretend like Suigetsu was just a noisy fly on the wall.

"I noticed that the number of prisoners is slightly smaller than it was the last time I was here." Harumi felt a bit sick at that comment. Not only had Sasuke been here and not done anything, he noticed enough to know that there were less inmates, which meant that they had died. The dirt mounds came to mind and Harumi gripped her arms with a brutal amount of force. She shook away her thoughts. There was no way Sasuke could have done anything in the state he used to be in if he had even tried. Not against Orochimaru. "When we came in, I also saw signs of recent digging in the grounds near the front of the entrance to this hide out. Karin, I know that you possess a razor sharp intellect and you're an expert at controlling information."

"Of course!" Suigetsu gasped, still able to follow the conversation despite keeping an eye on Harumi, that looked like she was about to spontaneously burst into flames… literally. "Rumors about Orochimaru's death started circulating amongst the prisoners, so to keep them from staging a riot and trying to escape, you put some sort of plan in place, isn't that right?" The girls fingers flexed and Harumi scowled at her, realizing exactly what she did, just keep some poor, tortured, innocents in a cage for as long as possible.

"You planted a spy among the inmates, so that he would dispose of anyone that so much as mentioned that slime ball," Karin whipped around to face Harumi. Karin wasn't scared of much, but that girl could definitely look scary and her chakra was twice as threatening, wild and blazing with fury, like a fire; golden fire.

"Karin…" Sasuke quickly interjected to contain the fight about to break out. She reluctantly turned her face towards him. "It's your cautious nature that has kept the peace in this prison for so long. In fact, it's what kept you alive."

"Hey, you don't have to put in that way, you know!" She snapped, offended.

"Well, there's no doubt that Orochimaru trained you. You're scary." Suigetsu sighed. "I bet you sensed our presence long before we even arrived at your door and you've probably thought up half a dozen ways to kill us."

'Not that any of them would have worked' Harumi wanted to say but bit her tongue, as painful as it was.

"I would have if it were just you two." She shot both Suigetsu and Harumi the stink eye.

"You'd never take down Sasuke, right?" He stated, certain she, like almost every other girl out there, had a crush on him.

"I didn't say that, idiot!" she exclaimed, trying to cover embarrassment with anger. "Sasuke's college! It's different!"

_'He's not your __**anything**__!'_ Harumi internally snarled.

_"Why hold back? It'd be too easy to tear her to shreds. If you don't want to dirty your hands, just had over the body to me! I'll be more than happy to do it for you and I swear on Ryujin I won't stop the water boy or your precious lover." _ Miharu cooed.

_'And then what? You take a quick trip to Konoha to visit Kakashi-sensei?'_

_ "I really wish you'd stop bringing that up!"_ She sniffed.

_'And I really wish you'd shut the hell up.'_

_ "When I said I enjoyed when you were high strung, I meant when it wasn't directed at me."_ She hissed.

_'Then maybe you should throw out careless words when I'm 'high strung'.' _Harumi retorted and their conversation died.

"Suigetsu!" The white haired male jumped and swiveled his head to look at the seething blonde, eyes wide. "Let's go release all the prisoners!"

"R-Right!"

"What!?" Karin screeched. "You can't just come here and do whatever you want! You have no idea what I went through to maintain order!"

"You're right. I don't know and I don't care either." Harumi retorted. "If you have problem with it, you can _try_ to stop me." To emphasize their distance in ability, Harumi spiked her chakra. Deep fissures stretched outward from Harumi's feet and scorch marks appeared from the heat of her chakra.

"It makes sense! If there's no prisoners there's no need for a warden! Go on you two!" Harumi's chakra went back to normal and she ignored the wide eyed, trembling Karin in favor of shooting Sasuke a glare. She wasn't one to rub things in people's faces or gloat anyways.

"Eager to be alone, huh?" Sasuke's eyes got big and Harumi quickly exited followed by a deer in headlights-eyed Suigetsu. This time, as they walked, Suigetsu kept his mouth shut, a little too frightened by her severe temper. When he had first laid eyes on her, she looked like an innocent, sweet faced angel that wouldn't and couldn't hurt a fly. It wasn't long till he discovered her temper and thought her to be one of those girls who was all bark and no bite, but she never struck him as the type to hide behind someone else either. And now… now he knew she could definitely hold her own. Leave it to Sasuke to propose to a monster in an angel's skin.

The prisoners eagerly walked up to the bars when they saw their 'angel' approaching. Harumi grabbed her sword, but Suigetsu quickly stopped her and held up one finger, wordlessly asking for a moment to speak with the prisoners. Harumi frowned but consented, letting her hand slip off the hilt of her sword. Suigetsu crouched in front of the prisoners and struck up conversation about Orochimaru.

"I knew!" The one Harumi had returned the die to exclaimed. "The rumors that Sasuke defeated Orochimaru is true aren't they?"

"Yep," Suigetsu confirmed lazily. "That's right."

"So what's gonna happen now? To us?" He questioned.

"You're all free to go." Harumi answered, smiling at them kindly. They looked genuinely shocked and swallowed thickly, unsure of whether or not to believe them.

"Seriously? We're free?" A different prisoner pressed.

"Yeah. Orochimaru once kept me in prison too." Harumi frowned at him, not liking that fact that her new found friend had once been a prisoner to Orochimaru. "But as you can see, I'm free now." He held up the key to their tiny door and they stared at him like he was some kind of god. "Okay, I'm gonna unlock your cell." He says, grinning. "But before I do, I have to ask you to do a little favor for me."

"Suigetsu!" Harumi scolded, giving him a disapproving look.

"It's just a little, simple favor."

"It's alright, Ms. Angel. Ask anything!" Harumi blinked at the 'Ms. Angel' comment. She glanced around for the 'angel' and then realized he was referring to her. They all smiled at her, blushing a light pink color.

_'Heh, I guess I do attract some level of the same attention Sasuke does…' _She mentally noted, sweat dropping a bit. She wasn't sure if she liked that or not or if it was a good or bad thing. Suigetsu found it amusing as well and shook his head before relaying his request.

"Good. Sasuke Uchiha defeated Orochimaru and freed us all… except her." He pointed a thumb at Harumi. "Once you're out, make sure everyone knows that." He slipped the key in the hole. "Spread the word that a man is now among us who will bring stability and peace." Harumi's eyebrows furrowed, the images of her slaughtered friends from the nightmares of the future she saw raced through her mind and Suigetsu turned the key and opened the door.

They scurried out and stretched, grinning. "May we know one thing?" Suigetsu gestured for them to ask away. "Your name?" He looked right at Harumi.

"Harumi. Mochizuki Harumi." She answered, confused as to why they wanted to know her name. She decided that while they were talking, she'd go ahead and correct them. "And I'm not an angel…" she grinned, showing off her sharp, protruding canines. "I'm a dragon! Let's go, Suigetsu!" She started back to the room where they left Sasuke and Karin alone, leaving the prisoners to stare after her with bug eyes.

"DR- DRAGON!" The image of a humongous reptile breathing fire came to mind.

When they reached the door, it was soon discovered that it was locked and Harumi frowned. Suigetsu rattled and jiggled the handle, hoping the old lock would just pop out of place.

"It's Suigetsu and Harumi." Sasuke says from behind the door. Harumi could clearly hear their conversation and she concentrated on them to pick up any other smaller details.

"Let's forget about those nuisances." Karin cooed in a different toned that made Harumi gag. She never talked to Sasuke in that tone. It was the kind of tone she'd take if talking to a baby, not a grown man or someone she viewed as a lover. She leaned in and Harumi's sensitive ears picked up the movement of cloth. She heard the two different types of cloth brush and new that in some way, Karin was touching Sasuke and her blood boiled. "Kay, Sasuke?"

"Karin… don't get so close." And like that, all her anger and insecurities dissipated. A small smile curled her lips and she closed her eyes, feeling relieved. Sasuke wasn't interested in her. Whether it be because Karin just put him off, or he really had remained wholly devoted to her despite believing her dead, she didn't know, but she had nothing to fear from Kari and that was enough for now.

"Look, what's wrong with the team being just you and me, Sasuke? I mean, we don't really need that Suigetsu or Harumi, right?"

"This is the part of you I need. Your cunning and cautiousness, but more than that your power to sense Chakra is unrivaled and valuable. From the first moment I met you, I knew I'd have a use for your power, but… I absolutely, with no doubts, need Harumi. She's my everything. I couldn't go on without her. She must always be by my side, now more than ever. I won't lose her again." Warmth proliferated through Harumi's chest and Karin was left gapping like a fish. She had totally misjudged Sasuke and Harumi's connection. She had felt it, this unusual bond in their chakra, so deep they were connected to a certain degree, but the way he spoke about her…

Just then the door was cut down by Suigetsu. His arm grotesquely muscled and too large for his slim, swimmers frame. "I hope that didn't chip my blade." He sighed and then smirked up at Sasuke. Before leaving, he had heard Karin shout that she wouldn't be going, much to his delight. "Come on, Sasuke, let's go. I assume Karin turned you down."

"Not quite. Seems she coming with us after all." Sasuke replied, but his eyes fell on Harumi. While he was relieved to see her in a better mood, smiling fairly warmly at him, he was entirely confused. Where were her mood swings coming from?

"What!?" Karin squeaked, albeit, in a deep tone. "Who said I was coming?! I just, I mean! I just happen to be going in the same direction as you! And that's it! Yeah! That's why I'm coming along!" She spluttered, trying to find a believable excuse.

"Well, isn't that nice?" inside he was weeping. "Now we can travel part of the way together."

"That's right." She firmly agreed, pushing up her glasses. "Only part of the way!" Suigetsu's arm returned to how it normally looked.

"Huh? Alright then, let's go get Juugo."

"Hold on!" Karin borderline shouted. "You want_ Juugo_ to join the team?!"

"Why should you care? Your only coming _part of the way_." He mocked her.

"You're right. I don't care. But I can still ask. Wanna piece of me? Come on!" Karin prodded him.

Sasuke stood. "Let's go." He demanded. Suigetsu instantly broke away from his stare off with Karin.

"Oh, yeah, sure." He easily agreed.

"Yeah, let's go." Karin agreed, making it sound like she was also giving orders. Harumi nodded and held her hand out for Sasuke to take. He didn't pass up the opportunity to make up with her and readily threaded their fingers together, much to Karin's umbrage.

"You're in a better mood." He commented once they were outside, just far enough away from the other two that they couldn't hear them whispering.

"Ah, I was being a bit ridiculous, wasn't I?" Harumi hummed, scratching her cheek from embarrassment.

"What was that about anyway? What that… jealousy?" That would astonish him. He couldn't remember a single time Harumi actually got _jealous_. She got irritated at fan girls, but never _jealous_.

"No. Well, not at first. It was more of… insecurity. I kind of expected- no that's not right – hoped you would move on, find someone else to love. I know we already went over this but, I don't want to accept that if I go and die again you're gonna live out the rest of your life loveless." She paused and then quickly added. "Or get your love from a hallucination of me. I want you to always be loved and to feel love for others, even after I'm gone. You need it to light up any darkness in your heart, so when you called this Karin girl by her name and thought highly of her abilities, I thought maybe you had tried to move on with her and some feelings developed and I got insecure and you kept talking highly of her and she started flirting and I'm here and you told me I was the only one and my insecurity turned into jealousy, which all insecurity turns into jealousy at some point and I know that utterly ruins relationships sometimes but I couldn't help myself and I hope that you'll forgive me because-" Sasuke put a finger over her lips, effectively silencing her, blinking rapidly. She was saying so much all at once so fast and he was trying to catch and process it all.

"Well then, that was quite a bit to take in." He smiled and shook his head at her. She smiled nervously and tried to tuck her bangs behind her ears but it was too short. "I'm not angry. Actually, I was freaking out. You had me sweating. I'd never seen you get worked up for so long. Your tempers have been quick, but there gone as fast as they come so when you held onto it, I thought I had done something to seriously offend you." She opened her mouth to protest, only to get his finger over her lips again and kept there.

"It's nice to know why you never got jealous now. I made you feel secure in our relationship. I'm only going to entertain the idea of you dying for a moment for your sake. If that does happen, I suppose I can _try_ to move on, for you, and if I do find another girl, I will **never** love **anyone** the way I love you, and if you ever find a way to come back to me again, and, in the tenth of a second, I'll remember what love really is and come right back to you."

She smiled, making a noise of amusement in the back of her throat. "I suppose trying is enough." She leaned against him, putting the top of her head under Sasuke's chin and he slipped his arms around her.

Karin eyed Sasuke. She liked his 'handsome and cool' face but his chakra was the real reason for her infatuation.

_'This feeling is so exciting. Of all the hundreds –no thousands- of chakras I've encountered, his is one of the best. It just grabs hold of you! And then there's his…'_

Karin scowled at Suigetsu. He noticed her staring, and decided not to take offence to the glare. "What's up?" He asked, evenly, arms casually thrown behind his head. She sniffed twice.

"I hate your chakra. It's just gross."

"What!?" Suigetsu hissed, arms dropping to his hips irately, now taking offence. He turned away, returning his arms to their previous position. "Well the same goes for you."

Karin then turned her gaze on Harumi. _'That girls chakra is something else entirely. It's so wild and raw, but still warm and inviting. It's accepting and kind and so very pure.'_ When she pictured Harumi's chakra, it was golden fire that burned only what it wanted to. She was certain that if sunlight had a smell, that's what Harumi's chakra would smell like. She had encountered this kind of chakra before, most often at the north hideout and what that chakra became after Orochimaru's experimentation. She shuddered. It was dark, and secretive and dangerously unpredictable. The scent it carried made her think of utter insanity.

What unnerved her the most, was that she got that same feeling from deep within Harumi. At least, something similar to it. Maybe not pure insanity, but something incredibly selfish and reckless.


	7. You Again

**Disclaimer: Obviously, I do not own Naruto or any of the characters besides Harumi, and anyone who doesn't belong in the original Naruto plot.**

"Aw man," Suigetsu moaned from his spot on the rock they found amongst all the water to take a break on. It was the third one in two hours. The time between the breaks he needed got shorter as the air got hotter. They were heading to an area with hot weather, probably barren and desert like and pretty soon, Harumi was gonna need those breaks too. "More walking? I'm at the end of my rope here."

Karin scoffed at him. "We're talking about the northern hideout. If you're this weak now, you'll probably be killed the instant you get there."

"I only know it from seeing it on a map." He replied, not taking the bait of the insults. "I didn't know that place was gonna be that dangerous."

"The northern hideout's no ordinary hideout." Karin says, gaining everyone's attention. "Not at all. It's for human experimentation…"

_'I thought that's what all Orochimaru's hideouts were for?'_

"…and it houses all the uncontrollable monsters that the experiments produce." Her eyes lingered on Harumi for a moment and Harumi's eyes narrowed and she wondered if the Dragon Sages Orochimaru experimented on with the curse mark were there. It was sounding that way.

* * *

The doorbell rang as Tsukino and Naruto ate Brunch. It was in the afternoon, but they had only just gotten up and were eating ramen.

"I'll get it." He murmured, eyes half open and hair messier than normal. He left the table and headed for the door, ramen in hand. He opened it and saw Sakura. She sweat dropped at the sight of the ramen cup in his hand.

"Uhgh, how can you eat that stuff right when you first wake up?" She muttered, scowling at him. She didn't know how Tsukino put up with it. Although they were good for each other. Tsukino had been so stiff at first, but Naruto really loosened her up. Maybe a little too much.

"Sakura, you gotta learn to relax. Why are you up so early anyway?" Naruto says.

"Noon isn't early." Sakura retorted irately. "Look, forget it. Just get washed up and dressed alright. I'll wait out here."

"What? I'm with Tsukino, Sakura. No dates." Naruto says, looking surprised. Now of all times she decides to be interested in him?

"NO YOU IDIOT! LADY TSUANDE SUMMONED US! TSUKINO CAN COME TOO IF SHE WANTS!" Sakura shrieked, resisted the urge to punch him.

* * *

Harumi had fallen back with Suigetsu, the heat plus walking equaled a very over heated Harumi that needed a break and some shade. Her cheeks her were flushed and if someone touched her skin it would most likely burn them and she was panting.

"You don't look so good." Suigetsu murmured and Harumi shook her head moments before falling flat on her face. "Harumi!" Sasuke whipped around, alert from Suigetsu's alarmed tone, hand on his sword. He realized it was just because she collapsed and relaxed a bit before hurrying over to her. He kneeled next to her head, frowning with a concerned expression.

"Are you okay?" She faintly nodded, still breathing heavy.

"It's so hot."

"It is not!" Karin snarled.

_'I don't do so well in hot weather'_ she had told him when they were protecting that actress.

"Let's get you in the shade." He reached for her.

"Don't touch me!" She snapped really fast and Sasuke jerked back. She looked up at him apologetically. "My skin's too hot. I don't want you to get burned." He relaxed. For a moment, he thought she was back in her mood. She pushed her herself up with shaky limbs and crawled over to the shade where she collapsed again, leaning against a rock. Suigetsu took a seat on the said rock, more than happy to take another break. He held out his bottle of water to Harumi and she craned her neck to take a quick sip.

Sasuke slipped out of his shirt and used it to fan her. "You don't have to do that."

"I want to." He replied without hesitation. "I like taking care of you." Her lips curled slightly. She tilted her head back and blew out fire, exhaling some of the heat back into the air to quicken her cooling process.

Suigetsu grinned. Harumi brought all kinds of new sides to Sasuke out. Ones he didn't know even existed. Sasuke was always to stoic and cold. He rarely showed any emotion and when it did it was normally anger or frustration. Something along those lines. It was nice to know he was just as human as the rest of them.

Karin on the other hand was fuming. She never knew Sasuke had ever had a girlfriend, let alone a fiancé. Not to mention they were on the same team together for a little while and have known each other for years. She was becoming less and less uncertain about how easy she had thought it was going to be to break them up so she could move in. Though, that didn't mean she was going to give up. She didn't lust after Sasuke for years just to give up when she discovered he had a fiancé.

Soft noises from a good distance away brushed Harumi's ears. She opened her eyes and concentrated. They were sobs; scared sobs of a lost child. She was up on her feet and leaping over the walls off rocks that surrounded them. "I'll be right back!" She called, leaving her teammates stunned for a moment, wondering where exactly she was running off to so fast.

It didn't take her long to find the child, curled up under some rocks to hide from anything and the sun, balled fists pressed against her eyes. She had dark brown hair that spiked out and framed her little face. Harumi bounded down, falling a bit before using her chakra to walk on air and slow her descent before letting herself drop again. It would look reminiscent of running down a hill. The sound of Harumi's chakra – a high pitched sound of shattered glass falling on the ground – drew the little girl's attention and she turned dark blue eyes on her as she descended, a little awestruck.

Harumi blinked, finding her to be somewhat familiar. She sniffled, blinking rapidly to get rid of the tears, hope sparking in the depths of her eyes. "Hi, there…" Harumi murmured. "What's your name, cuteness?"

She smiled a little at the compliment, coming out of her ball a bit. "Izumi Kinoshita." Kinoshita wasn't familiar at all, but she still felt she knew this girl, or at least, someone who looked like her.

"Are you…" Harumi tilted her head, urging her to go on and ask her question. "Are you Harumi Mochizuki?" Harumi's eyes widened, stunned that the little girl knew her name. "Our Guardian Angel?"

_'Okay, seriously, what is with this angel business? Who randomly tells their kid a complete stranger-' _ A girl with pixie cut hair and dark blue eyes came to mind.

"Your parents… are their names Kai and Risa?" She smiled and nodded. "Do they live around here?" Another nod, quickly followed by a frown and then her eyes watered up.

"I don't… I don't know where."

"Don't worry. I'll find it."

She sniffled, tears drying up again. "Really?"

"Really." Harumi opened up her arms and Izumi launched herself at Harumi. She folded her arms around Izumi, careful to keep her skin from touching her so she wouldn't get burned. She was still too ho and she blew more fire out of body and started back to her team. It would be better to let Sasuke know she intended to take a detour to return the little girl to her family, some more people she needed to visit that she'd all but forgotten about. They probably grieved the most, carrying the weight of her death on their shoulders.

"What the hell is that!?" Karin screeched, pointing a finger at Izumi.

"An Onibaba!"**[1]** Izumi cried in returned, burying her face in Harumi's chest from fright. Suigetsu exploded with laughter promoting the already fuming Karin to kick him in the face and his head exploded into water, alarming Harumi for moment. Then she sighed, remembering he said something about being made of water.

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked, ignoring the two members of the team, his shirt back on.

"I found her, lost and all alone. I'm gonna return her to her parents. It'd be nice to see them again."

"You know her parents?" Sasuke questioned, but it sounded more like a statement. It was flustering. He thought he knew every one that Harumi did. Harumi simply nodded. "Alright then. How do you propose we do that?"

"I'll just look for their house from above. Hold her for a moment." She passed her off to Sasuke, whom hesitantly took her, uncertain of how to hold her. Harumi raised an eyebrow at how awkward he was being. "You know… if you plan on having a lot of kids with me, you might want to start getting used to handling them. We need to talk about that too. Later though, more important things at the moment." With that, she leaped into the sky, leaving behind a beet red Sasuke, a steaming, mortified Karin and a snickering Suigetsu.

"She's pretty daring." Suigetsu chuckled. "Saying things like that in front of other people without a second thought or a hint of shame." Sasuke nodded. He knew said whatever she wanted, often motivated by feelings alone, but he had hoped she would have more modesty.

Harumi carefully scanned the area looking for a house of sorts. Not too far off, just outside of all the walls of rocks, by a nearly dried up river was a small house. Two figures moved around frantically, searching for something. That something was more than likely Izumi. She dropped to the ground. "straight that way." She said pointing in the direction of the house. Sasuke nodded.

"Suigetsu, Karin, let's go." Suigetsu sighed but stood nonetheless and Karin growled irately. She didn't understand the why they had to help some little brat.

The distraught couple noticed them long before they reached the house and waited for them to arrive. Seeing the child in Sasuke's arms they ran at them out of joy, only to skid to a halt when their eyes landed on Harumi.

"It's you…" Risa breathed, her hands flying to her mouth. "Amaterasu, how!? You… it's always you… in our most desperate times, it's always you that helps us." Risa moved to pull Harumi into a hug but she quickly deflected her, keeping skin from touching. Risa loved hurt for a moment, then accepted it with a sense of sadness. "Of course. Sorry. You probably don't want to be touched by me… after what I did…"

Sasuke's eyes widened and his grip on Izumi tightened. "You…" He hissed. "You're the reason she died back then, aren't you?" Risa blinked at his sudden intense hostility in shock. She noticed the two rings, Harumi large flower one, and the simple silver ring with a flower engraved into it on Sasuke's finger. He was the reason Harumi agreed to the mission really, but Risa thought better of it than to say anything.

"Sasuke!" Harumi sharply snapped. "Behave. It was my own decision. I knew exactly what I was stepping into. It was stupid and I wasn't thinking clearly and it doesn't matter because I'm here now. I'm alive now and everyone gets to be happy, so chill out."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait!" Suigetsu cut in and the pointed at Harumi. "You died?!"

"Yes. I died, in order to bring him back to life," She waved at Kai. "… and then the Dragon's resurrected me. The perks of being a Dragon Sage and having friends in high places." Suigetsu blinked several times and then nodded, unsure of how to take that news. It wasn't every day you got to meet a zombie that didn't want to eat you.

Sasuke's jaw moved in a way that let Harumi know he was unhappy, but he handed the child over without lashing out in anyway, albeit his glare didn't disappear. Kai didn't hold it against him. He wouldn't be too pleased if someone tricked Risa into dying to bring back their loved one. "Thank you for returning her to us."

Harumi smiled and nodded. They were happily married with a child. They seemed to be doing okay relationship wise, but… Harumi peered around, looking at the barren landed and the dying garden and shabby house and the weak, muddy river. It wasn't the ideal place to live. Since she was here, she might as well help a bit more. She lifted her hand and pressed her claws into her finger tips and then turned to Sasuke.

"Hand sighs for Summoning Jutsu, go!" She demanded and he blinked at her.

"What?"

"Show me the hand signs for a Summoning Jutsu. I forgot them." It was on one of the few Jutsu that she actually needed hand signs for and she had a really hard time remembering them. Steadily, she copied Sasuke's hand movements and then put her had in front of her. In a poof of smoke, a Dragon the size of a horse appeared. She was a long, Chinese dragon with green scales and sea foam green fur on her underbelly on the tip of her tail that felt like grass and some flowers grew on her feet, head and along her spine.

"Hey, do you mind?" Harumi gestured to the surrounding area. Without a word, the Dragon blew, soft tendrils of green, wind coming from her mouth and the ground came to life. Grass and flowers appeared and vines containing grapes grew up the side of the house. The Garden now flourished and water rushed through the river. An oasis was created in a matter of seconds.

Harumi closed her and bowed her head and body a bit; enough to show respect and keep her dignity, one foot crossed behind her other ankle. In return, the dragon also closed her eyes and bowed her head, tilting it to the side a bit. At the same time they raised their heads and opened their eyes, returning to their original positions. Harumi had expected her to return to Ryujin, but instead she turned her piercing, hot pink eyes on Sasuke. He tensed and she moved towards him. The other two skittered back, afraid of the beast but Sasuke remained still. He knew the dragon was checking him out, testing him to see if he was worthy of Harumi's affections.

"Saki?" Harumi nervously questioned.

It twisted it's long body around him, coiling like the snakes dragons so detested, leaving a comfortable amount of space between them. Harumi bit her lip, worried about him. Saki narrowed her eyes and then with one claw touched his forehead. He gasped as the dragon's words entered his head and his eyes rolled back.

_'Take care of her.'_

It wasn't a request; it was a threat.

"Sasuke!" Harumi lurched foreward just as Saki poofed away, catching him. It took him a moment to re-adjust. His eyes were wide and unfocused and a bit of blood rolled out of his nose.

"Is he okay!?" Suigetsu and Risa shouted.

"Sasuke? Sasuke!" Harumi pressed her lips to the side of his head, trying to heal him without burning him by using his hair as a sort of thin shield. Harumi had trained to understand the dragon language, unlike Sasuke who would only hear growls instead of words when a dragon spoke to him, so she translated, but it was taxing on the ordinary human mind and body.

"That was painful." He grunted and wiped the blood off his face. "I'm just… gonna sit for a moment." Out of concern, Harumi kneed his shoulders to help relief pain, turning her head to release more fire to keep her temperature low.

Risa waved Suigetsu and Karin over, offering up some of their newfound garden and something to drink from their travels, leaving Harumi and Sasuke alone. "You wanted to talk kids, now's a perfect opportunity."

"No it's not." Harumi murmured. "We'll talk later. Recover. We can always find time to be alone for a little bit. "She leaned down and kissed his neck, feeling she was cool enough to only feel warmer than normal. He leaned into her kiss and turned his head.

"You know, it's been awhile since you last kissed me." She blinked at him and then tried to suppress her oncoming smile. His face looked a little puffier than normal.

"Are you pouting?"

He sharply turned his face away. "No."

"Mmm-hmm." She hummed and she scooted away and then pulled him back so that his head leaned on her chest and she could look down at his face and she swooped down, pressing her lips against his. He instantly kissed back, hand coming up to hold the back of her neck. Inside, Karin broke a carrot in half from anger.

Harumi pulled back, and planted a quick kiss on his forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." He hummed. "Did you go through that?" She nodded.

"Although, my body had already been trained so it could handle the stress better and it went a single letter, a through z, then to two letter words and steadily moving up until I could hold whole conversations without any translations." She explained and he frowned.

"Sounds brutal."

She chuckled, somewhat fondly at her memories of training with dragons. "Yeah, a little."

"What other kind of training did you go through?"

"Remember that time I got back from my solo mission when you guys were at the land of waves and I got all depressed for a moment."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, trying to pinpoint the right memory. "When you found us about to start training by climbing trees with only our feet and you totally wiped the floor with us."

She laughed again. "Yeah. I had done training like that beforehand, only I had to use my hands while keeping my body perfectly parallel with the ground. That and Houka warned me if I did any damage to the tree there would be severe punishment so I was too afraid to use too much chakra and often slipped and fell right on my face, sometimes from great heights. My face was always an unrecognizable bloody mess by the end of training. I'm surprised I don't have any scars on my face." She rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

Sasuke closed his eyes and shook his head. "How did you survive training like that?" She shrugged.

"Endurance and lots of spunk." He snorted, a smile spreading crossing his face.

"Harumi…"

"Hmmm."

"I love you."

"I love you." She returned with warmth.

"I know I don't tell you that as much as I should…"

"And that's fine, because I know you love me without you having to say it. I get silly sometimes, like before, but I'll always come to realize you love you like I love you."

He sat up and turned, slipping his hand behind her neck before pulling her into a proper kiss. "We should get going." He declared, albeit, a little regretfully. He'd like to lay like that in her arms for the rest of his life, but there were still things he had to do.

Disappointment momentarily flickered through her eyes and she quickly hid it with false happiness and a smile. He stood and then held a hand out to her to help her up. She took and he pulled her right into his arms and held her tight. He glared at the rocks uncertainly, worried just how much of a rift would be created between them once he got his revenge. Was it really worth it?

"Sasuke?" She craned her neck to see his face, but couldn't. His hands slid up to her shoulders and he gave them a quick squeeze before stepping away with a small smile.

"Karin! Suigetsu! Let's go!" He shouted and the two hurried out, the redhead shooting Harumi a nasty look that she ignored.

"Thank you for everything Harumi." Risa murmured. Harumi waved off her thank you with a smile as the team turned and started away with full water bottles and a little bit extra from Risa and Kai.

"Harumi!" The blonde looked over her shoulder, eyebrows raised. "We have another child! His name is Haru! After you!"

Harumi's eyes got bigger, and sparkled, a blush coating her cheeks.

A _baby_… named after _her_… How cool was that?

**A/N: [1] Onibaba means Demon-hag. **

**Dear Guest, I'm don't really get what you mean by Sasuke Harumi time, but I'm assuming its fluff. I'll try to give you more of that as I go. It'll be easier once the plot gets going… I think.**


	8. What Lies Beneathe

**Disclaimer: Obviously, I do not own Naruto or any of the characters besides Harumi, and anyone who doesn't belong in the original Naruto plot.**

A little further away, Suigetsu sat without any warning whipping out his drink and bringing everyone to a halt again. He sighed. "Say, aren't you guys tired? How about a little break?" Harumi had been carefully regulating her temperature, releasing puffs of fire every now and then to cool her temperature, plus she was still on a happiness buzz from being told someone named their child after her. She wondered if Sasuke would feel the same if he knew Itachi named his son after him… it was too bad Itachi made her vow not to mention them to Sasuke either.

'_Ryujin, he is such a pain.'_

"What!? But you already took a break! Damn it, you are so lazy Suigetsu!" Karin snapped. "Come on, we still have a long way to go!"

"I thought you were only going part of the way with us?" Suigetsu mused. "So, what I do shouldn't concern you. Just- go on ahead."

"For your information, I remembered that I had business at the northern hideout too! And don't tell me where to go!" Karin shouted, getting defensive… again. Suigetsu made a noise of unhappiness and annoyance.

"You know, maybe he'd drop that topic if you would grow a pair and just say you want to come with, or better that you _are_, because it's fairly obvious you intended to tag along and a little sad that you keep trying to hide it, rather pitifully I might add." Harumi muttered, growing tired of the same bickering. Karin was so much worse than Sakura. Of course, she didn't mind Suigetsu's breaks for two reasons; if he need on, he should take one and it lengthened the amount of time between Sasuke finding Itachi.

It was a little funny though. Different team, same job.

Karin opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water before turning away, her nose turned into the air. "I'm not pretending!" It was the only thing she could think of to say back. Sasuke's amusement at the whole ordeal was humiliating.

Harumi shook her head, taking a seat next to Suigetsu. Sasuke quickly joined her and – like magnets – their hands came together, fingers intertwining, much to Karin distress. Sasuke hadn't struck her as the affectionate, touchy type that held hands, but apparently, he was.

"Suigetsu…" Karin started, turning back to said male, crossing her arms, her tone low and calm for once. "Why the hell are you following Sasuke around?"

"Sasuke's not the only one with a goal." Harumi murmured a very low 'amen' "And I have reason to believe he can help me reach mine. But really…" Suigetsu smirked at her. "I should be asking you the same question, Karin."

"I may not know exactly what goals you two are after, but it you knew what Juugo's really like, you wouldn't want to recruit him." She retorted, expressing just how uneasy she was about getting Juugo to join the team.

"Well, actually, I know him a little." Suigetsu corrected her. "I was forced to fight him once. He used some interesting powers and was pretty strong, but I couldn't figure out what was going on in his head. I could never come around to liking him. I heard he actually asked Orochimaru to lock him up in that place. Tells you how crazy he really is." Suigetsu chuckled and Harumi turned to Sasuke, raising an eyebrow at him. His shoulders just popped up a little.

"According to all the rumors I've heard, Juugo has bizarre impulses but manages to control them. When he snaps, he becomes a homicidal maniac and his personality changes along with his looks." Harumi's ears twitched. _That_ sounded familiar.

"In other words he's an angry guy that loves to kill people. Does that sum it up pretty well?" Suigetsu says, nonchalantly.

"Even so, to Orochimaru, Juugo's power was something very fascinating." She continued. "Orochimaru developed an enzyme from Juugo's bodily fluids, which allowed other Shinobi to achieve the same state." She trailed off for a moment and Harumi's eyes got a little bigger. "You guys know what I mean don't you?" She paused again. "I'm talking about the curse mark. It originated with Juugo."

Things were starting to make more sense. She had always wondered why Sasuke's curse mark affected her so much. Now it was sounding like the two were very similar; the curse mark and Dragon Senjutsu.

* * *

"You're late!" Tsunade snapped. "Why did it take so long for you two to get here!"

Sakura quickly bowed. "Forgive us Lady Tsunade! Naruto and Tsukino were eating lunch… for breakfast."

"Now, now, Tsunade…" Jiraiya tried to pacify her as Naruto and Tsukino entered.

"Whoa, no way!" Naruto gasped. "Pervy Sage! You're back in town again?"

"It's been a while Naruto!" Jiraiya responded, grinning at his only and much adored pupil. "Hasn't it?"

"It sure has!" Naruto exclaimed, also grinning now. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming back here?! I have _so much_ to tell you about!"

"So I hear." Tsunade, Sakura, Shizune and Tsukino watched the two hold a conversation, completely ignoring everybody else. "At least the gist of it, not the details. But I understand you played a BIG role in recent events, you and your lady are doing good, and Harumi is alive! Apparently."

"That's for sure! Don't I always! And good? We're doing great! Things are getting a little heated at night, if you know what I mean." Naruto bounced his eyebrows, grinning silly and Tsukino's face flared with color.

"Ooooh, I do~." Jiraiya grinned, rubbing his hands together. "Give me all the juicy details will ya?"

"Sure!" Tsukino's eyebrow twitched. "Oh! And I finally got my collaboration Ninjutsu to sync with Gamatatsu!" Sakura watched in dismay, fearful of Tsunade's wrath.

"You did!? That's fantastic!"

"What do you say? Wanna see my new Jutsu?!" Naruto gushed, excited to show off and Sakura scowled at him and then smiled nervously at Tsunade.

"Well, since I'm here, how could I ever pass up that offer!?"

"Awesome!" Naruto cheered. "Oh and after that we can go eat at Ichiraku ramen!"

"Sure!" Jiraiya agreed. "Tell you what, it'll be my treat!"

"ALRIGHT!" Naruto shouted gleefully. "Let's go!"

"Your new Jutsu huh? I can't wait!" Jiraiya walked foreward, slipping his arm behind Naruto's neck. "Ooo, and while we're at Ichiraku's and can tell me all about you and Tsukino!~"

"HEEEY!" Sakura, Tsunade, and Tsukino snarled and stopped towards the two and were promptly punched.

* * *

They made it a little farther and then Suigetsu collapsed again with a 'Heeeyy'.

"We can rest a second?" He asked.

"Suigetsu!" Karin shouted, whipping around, flailing about as she continued to rant. "You keep taking breaks like every two minutes! We're almost at the hideout, now come on!" She stood up straight, placing one hand on her hip while using the other to point in his direction accusingly. "I bet it's that sword. _It's too heavy for you_**, isn't it**! Just leave it behind! DAMN IT!"

Sasuke and Harumi paid them no mind, both tense and alert.

"Talk some sense into him, Sasuke!" Karin urged. He didn't respond and she became nervous. "What's wrong?"

"Where's the guard who's supposed to be on watch?" He asked. His eyes never left that tower. Neither has Harumi's.

"What?" Karin followed their gaze. "H's gone. That is strange."

"Not really." Harumi murmured. "I smell blood. Lots of it. Something wrong."

"Guys." Suigetsu hissed from behind them, still seated on the ground. They looked at him and then swiftly looked ahead again when another set of footsteps could be heard. A man stumbled towards them, looking very beat up. Suddenly, he collapsed. The team surrounded him. Both Karin and Harumi knelt down beside him. Karin checked his pulse and then flipped.

It was hard, but Harumi managed to ignore the figure in the hooded, tattered, black cloak. Shadows concealed the face and clean, white finger bones stuck out of the ends of the sleeves. The ends of the cloak, which touched the ground and spanned out a little, twisted and shifted on its own. Death hovered around, waiting to take the young man on the ground.

Harumi had died and because of it, it left her more exposed to seeing such things. Her comrades were completely oblivious to the cloaked creature standing in their midst, they had been oblivious too it the whole journey. Never feeling it when it swept by Harumi, aching to take her soul back, trying to lure her into taking her own life.

She wasn't necessarily _afraid_ of him, but she didn't really like having him around either. He was constantly pulling on her soul, appealing to the part of her the still – and would always – yearn for the afterlife. She wasn't supposed to be here anymore and she felt a bit out of place. Luckily, it couldn't hang around her all day. Harumi was certain that if it could, it would. But there were other souls trapped in lifeless bodies died, waiting to be collected and moved to their afterlife

"He's from the northern hideout." Karin informed them. "He's still alive."

"What happened there?" Sasuke asked, kneeling beside him as well next to Harumi and she placed her hands on his chest and a green fire erupted from them. "You can heal?"

"A little. It's certainly not my forte, but I know a bit. Sometimes, enough to just sustain life or fix mild injuries." Death's finger poked her cheek and her eyes flickered to him, resisting the urge to scowl at him. She didn't want to make a face at something no else could see and have to explain why and freak them out or make them think she was having a severe case of heat stroke. It had bent down and she could see two glowing red orbs deep in its empty eye sockets.

"You… you must be him…" The man wheezed, opening his eyes. "Sasuke Uchiha, right? Please, you must help us."

"What's going on?" Suigetsu pressed.

"The rumors… it started with the rumors of Orochimaru. That he'd been killed. The prisoners all went wild and rioted and the way it's going-" He cut off, making sharp noises of pain and then went limp. He was dead. Death reached down, placing its bone hand over Harumi's once her fire died. It didn't have to touch the bodies to draw out the souls and certainly didn't need to touch her to draw out the souls. It would like it was trying to test her somehow, for some unfathomable reason.

The Death removed its hand and the soul starting to come with and Harumi turned her face, closing her eyes, placing her hands on her chest. And it was gone, along with the man's soul.

"Look at that!" Suigetsu gasped, somewhat awed. "He just _died_."

"And sometimes, it's not enough." Sasuke placed a hand on Harumi's shoulder and squeezed. The gesture seemed to gently whisper, 'you can't save everyone'. She frowned, thinking of the awful future, determined to give it her all.

Karin turned her head to the side at the same time Harumi's eyes snapped open. Both had sensed the oncoming threat in their own ways at the same time. A spinning figure crashed into the ground, creating a nice dent a cloud of dust. The dust eased away, revealing a humanoid creature. It's skin was dark brown and hard with deep lines in the face and two sets of horns coming off it; a pair from the forehead and a pair from the cheek bones. It glared at them with yellow eyes surrounded by pools of black. It had a head of messy, orange hair, a fat tail that reminded Harumi of a bugs body and small wing looking appendages protruding from its arms, starting at the wrist and stretching to just below the elbow.

"I know you, I'm sure I do." It growled, eyes locked on Sasuke. Harumi resisted the urge to step in front of him. The feeling that rolled of it was unnerving.

"What the heck is that?" Suigetsu muttered, eyeing the creature.

"That's curse mark, second state. He has already transformed." Karin answered. In the next instant, Sasuke went from beside Harumi to a yard away, easily cutting the man turned monster with his sword in the process. The curse mark receded and he collapsed. Sasuke re-sheathed his sword. For a moment, Harumi thought he had killed him, but soon discovered she could still hear the heartbeat.

"The northern hideout is just ahead." Sasuke stated. "Let's go get Juugo." Sasuke started walking, eager to get this over with.

"Hey. Hey!" Karin called. "Wait up!" She hurried after him. "Sasuke!" Suigetsu followed at a slower pace and stopped next to the man Sasuke just defeated.

"Huh? Who is this guy?"

"A victim." Harumi hummed and pulled out her sword. Suigetsu's eyes got big.

"Your… going to kill him…"

"The Dragon's had a theory about my chakra… they asked me to test it, so I am. If their right, it should benefit him." She closed her eyes and focused and a gold fire enveloped her sword. All she did was create a little cut on his shoulder across the curse mark and the golden flames swallowed him. His face scrunched up from pain and writhed a bit and then the flames died and he lay still, face peaceful. Suigetsu blinked, confused.

Harumi crouched and checked the back of his neck and sure enough, the curse mark was gone. She could burn curse marks out of other people, like she did herself, freeing them of their burden… if they saw it that way. It didn't matter to her. They couldn't be allowed to run free with their kind power – power that could consume them at any moment – without supervision. They had three options; die, remain imprisoned, or have their curse marks removed. Although, she wasn't really giving them a choice. They were all getting their curse marks taken away. Suigetsu's eyes got big and he whistled. He didn't know it was possible to be rid of the curse mark once given it.

Suigetsu and Harumi joined Sasuke and Karin just as Karin finished surveying the area with her special ability. They were facing a horde of transformed prisoners of all shapes and sizes. "All the wardens have been killed and all the inmates have broken out."

"At this rate, we can't tell which one is Juugo, right? Sasuke?"

"Karin… can you detect Juugo among those prisoners?" Sasuke asked, not even glancing at her, or asking if it was possible for her to do that.

Karin growled. "Oh, what a huge pain." She bit out. "Wait just a second." She made hand signs, closed her eyes and concentrated. Seconds later, she opened them again and let her arms drop. "No. He's not among them."

"Then we won't have to worry which of them we take down." Suigetsu mused, pulling out the rest of the hilt to his sword and attaching it.

"Just don't kill any of them." Sasuke ordered.

"Agreed, no killing." Harumi says.

Suigetsu sighed. "Boy, you two really are from the hidden leaf village. We shouldn't hold back and one of you should have killed that last guy too. You're both so soft."

"Let's go." He ordered again. The three of the lurched foreward. Karin stayed behind. She wasn't the type to be strong enough to take down guys like this. Harumi cut right through the middle and twenty of them dropped, going up in golden flames, coming to a halt with her sword still drawn and out in front of her. A group jumped at her all together and she swung, nicking all of their stomachs and weaved around their now flaming, falling bodies. She made sure to stop by the ones Sasuke and Suigetsu knocked out as well. They pushed inside where only a few were left and Karin went to go find the keys. Just as they finished up, she returned with a victorious cry;

"The keys! I found the key ring!"

They steadily made their way down the hall, deeper into the hideout, silent and tense. They stopped at a four-way intersection.

"Karin. Which way? Tell us." He demanded.

"Hey! Sasuke! Quit bossing us around!" Karin snapped.

Suigetsu groaned. "Just clam down and figure it out would ya? If you're so proud of your ability then use it." She scowled at him for a moment and then pointed down the pathway to the left of the way they reached the intersection.

"It's that way."

"I'm going this way." Harumi pointed down the hall opposite of Karin pointed at.

"What!? Think I don't know where I'm going!?" Karin snarled.

"No." Harumi deadpanned. "I just have business to attend to that way. You guys go on. I'll catch up here in a minute." Harumi waved goodbye and headed down her hallway without another word. Sasuke frowned, watching her go and Suigetsu sighed, starting down the hallway Karin pointed at.

"See ya later." Both Harumi and Sasuke tensed, but said nothing. She looked back just in time to see Karin pulling Sasuke into the hallway straight ahead of the hall they had reached the intersection at, cooing.

"It's actually this way." Sasuke worked to suppress his irritation and Harumi shook her head at the silly redhead.

"You know, I didn't realize the curse mark could transform the body to such a grotesque degree." Suigetsu commented offhandedly. "Sasuke, I wonder, does that curse mark change you like that too. Sasuke?" He didn't get a response so he stopped and started to turned around. "Hey, are you even listening to me?" But there was no one there. His hand curled into a tight fist. "That _woman_…" He hissed.

* * *

She followed the feeling of rotten, savage, bloodthirsty chakra, certain that it was originally noble and pure. She descended stairs into darkness – underground. And then it was behind her again, fully aware it would probably collect some souls, maybe even hoping for hers, while she was doing what was expected of a full-fledged Dragon Sage. It was now her responsibility to take care of Fallen she came across. She had half expected it to show up, but it didn't stop her from jumping.

"Damn it! Stop popping up like that!" She chided him, somewhat crossly. She felt snippet of amusement radiate from Death, momentarily stunning her. It was the first time she'd ever felt any type of emotion come from it – him – her.

She came to a stop in front of a very large, tightly sealed iron gate. Screeches and growls emitted from behind the doors and the hair on the back of Harumi's neck stood up. They felt like Fallen and at the same type like something else, like… like **dark** Dragon Sages. Whatever Juugo's ability was, it must have something to do with Natural Energy. It's intense stuff to handle without proper training, which would explain his impulses and if he were to intake something negative from the atmosphere without regulating it, it could easily send him into a violent, psychotic frenzy. Not to mention, Orochimaru obviously perverted it somehow, making it all the more worse, which is why Sasuke's curse mark was so dark.

"_Do we really have to do this?"_

'_Yes, Miharu.'_

* * *

"Hey, wait! I'm right back where I started." Suigetsu muttered, eyes sweeping over all the inmates they had taken down earlier. "I guess I should have taken a right back there. I'm gonna get that _wench_."

"You…" A male voice wheezed. "I saw you and your friends. Why'd you come to this place? What do you want here?"

"Well, it's none of your business, but we came here for Juugo. We want him to join us. And Harumi – the blonde – had some other business to attend down a different hall from us." The only conscious prisoner, whom he was having a conversation with, chuckled weakly.

"You don't know him, cause if you did. You'd have stayed far away from this place. As for what other business there could besides all the prisoners you've taken out and Juugo, she must have been talking about those demons in the basement. You guys don't know what you're messing with. You can't let them get out. They can't control themselves. Especially not those demons." He replied.

"Oh, believe me, I know. I'll make him see reason… by force if necessary. And I'm not worried about Harumi. She can handle herself."

He smiled at Suigetsu in amusement, mocking him for believing such a thing. "No matter how strong you and that girl may be, you're no match for Juugo and she's not match for one of those things, let alone all the ones down there. I'd ask you to tell her thanks for getting rid of the curse mark, but you're never going to see her again. At least, not alive and only what's left of her after they get done tearing her apart." Anger boiled Suigetsu's blood and he harshly kicked the inmate in the stomach. He didn't like being underestimated, laughed at or talked down. Nor did he like the comments about Harumi dying. She already died once. If she died again, it had better be peaceful and in her sleep. No pain, no fear. Certainly not torn up by some freaks.

"Listen, if it weren't for Sasuke's and that blonde you're dissing silly rules, I would have killed you already."

He only laughed. "Do what you want! Juugo will still kill all of you! And that girl will be reduce to blood splatters and lumps of flesh and tissue here and there!"

"I think they'll forgive me just this once." He gripped his sword, pulled it off his back and swung down and then stopped only a centimeter from his neck. Sasuke probably _would_ forgive him, Harumi on the other hand, not so much, and he didn't like the idea of her being angry at him or disappointed. He breathed sharply through his nose and put his sword back on his back and swiftly kicked the guy in the face before walking away. Internally, he debated on whether or not to go after Harumi or Sasuke.

* * *

"This it?" Sasuke asked when they stopped a chained, iron door.

"Yeah." Karin answered. "Juugo's in this cell." She stepped foreward and stuck in the key in lock and turned, steadily opening the many locks on by one. The noise caught Juugo's attention and his head popped up, face half covered with blacks marks.

"Someone's here… so which is it?"

"Kay." Karin nervously says. "I'm gonna open it." Slowly, fearfully, she reached towards the door handle. Sasuke's hand shot out, taking hold of the handle before she could with her trembling hand.

"No. I'm going in first. Now, just stay behind me."

"Uh, right." She blushed, looked down and took a step back.. He opened the door a crack.

"No, a man, yeah, a man! If a man walks in, I'm killing him." Murmured to himself and then the door completely opened, revealing Sasuke. "Bingo! You're dead!" Juugo lurched foreward, easily dragging the chain and ball connected to his ankle. Karin let out a small scream-like gasp and Sasuke crouched, grabbing his sword and preparing to defend himself. Juugo crashed into him, and slammed him into the wall, creating a nice sized dent and a cloud of smoke.

"Sasuke!" Karin cried, from her spot on the ground, half wishing the others were here to help him. She had jumped out of the way, tripping over feet as she went and landed on the ground, sitting up in time to see Juugo slam Sasuke into the wall. Juugo released a loud, excited laugh.

* * *

Both Naruto and Jiraiya had two large bumps on their heads. Naruto got punched by Sakura, Jiraiya got punched by Tsunade and they both got punched by Tsukino. Naruto stared ahead miserably, Jiraiya scowled at Tsunade with tears of pain in his eyes, Tsunade glared back at him venomously and Sakura laughed nervously and then sighed. She bowed again.

"I'm so sorry, Lady Tsunade. Naruto never knows **when to **_**quit!**_" She turned on him, hand raised like she was going to slap him again. "Stipid, Naruto! Don't just stand there!" She grabbed the back of his neck and forced him to bow along with her. "Say you're sorry!"

"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed. "Ow! Sakura! That hurts! Ow! Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow!" She glared at him before smiling at Tsunade.

"So? What did you want to tell us Lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked and Tsukino reached over and grabbed her hand, removing it from Naruto's neck, deeming he had enough punishment.

"Huh?" She says and then hums, looking at Jiraiya with a serious expression, remembering why she summoned them in the first place. Naruto blinked and raised an eyebrow at her.

"What is it? Don't leave us hanging! Do you have something to talk to us about or what?" Naruto pressed, leaning forward.

"Yes I do." Her voice was a bit grave. "It's just that… we've been seeing Intel floating around on multiple channels. That's what I need to talk to you about."

"Some Intel?" Sakura echoed.

"What? What is it?" Naruto urged, curious as a cat. His curiosity was met with a couple of seconds of silence before they finally answered him.

"That Orochimaru is dead." All three of them gasped. "…and that… Sasuke Uchiha killed him." Shock filtered through the three young adults. Tsukino was speechless.

"What? Really? Are you sure?" Naruto asked for confirmation.

"Yeah, that's the story we've heard. And we believe its turn. It comes from a reliable source. They also mentioned something about a Dragon Goddess traveling with Sasuke. I'm assuming that's Harumi." Jiraiya added. Tears filled in Sakura eyes.

"Then that… means…" She murmured, coming to the same conclusion Naruto did. The hyperactive, threw his arm behind his head and laughed.

"I just knew there was no way Orochimaru could ever break Sasuke!" He chirped gleefully. "That must mean that Sasuke's coming back to the hidden leaf village right!? Right?" He asked twice, feeling unsettled by their grave and pitying faces.

"I'm afraid that doesn't seem to be in his plans." Naruto made a small noise of dismay and Tsukino placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him.

* * *

"No, not just yet!" Juugo exclaims and then his already grotesquely transformed arm begins to change more, his elbow becoming some sort of barrel and he pushed harder, pushing Sasuke farther into the wall and making anger, larger, cloud. Karin shrieked and covered her face.

'_Sasuke's chakra…' _For a moment, Karin had thought Juugo's hand had grew in size, but the more she looked, the more she could see it was differently colored and seemed to be coming from Sasuke. Juugo's eyes widened. "…it just transformed!"

Getting over his shock, Juugo just laughed again. "So you're just another copy of me, are you?!" Sasuke's large hand-thing clamped down on Juugo's arm and pushed back. "Still, it's pretty impressive you can pull of a partial transformation like that." Juugo ripped his arm away from Sasuke and jumped back. "You know, you're pretty good and using the curse mark." Sasuke slowly stepped out of the dent in the wall, staring Juugo down with one yellow and one black eye.

"I'm not here to fight you." Sasuke stated. Juugo grinned mechanically and Karin wondered if he understood a word Sasuke was saying. "The only reason I'm here is to talk to you, Juugo."

* * *

Harumi grabbed the ship steering wheel looking thinking and began to pull; trying to turn it so the seven beams running across the door to keep it closed would open. She used all her strength and could only inch it down little by little, grunting and make unusual noises of effort.

Death watched for a moment before lifting up a single a single bone hand to its face and pinched the bone in between his eye sockets, shaking its head. Then, it reached over and grabbed the lever beside the door and pulled it down with a loud, 'crrrraaaankkkkkk' and gears began turning, opening up the door on its own.

Harumi immediately let go when the wheel started turning on its own and looked over in the direction she heard that odd noise come from to see Death had pulled down a lever. She laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head. It only seemed to sigh at her. The doors began to open up on their own and Harumi took a couple steps back, drawing her sword. The stench of rotting flesh reached her nose and she resisted the urge to turn her face away and gag. While locked up, the destruction hungry beasts must have attacked each other to satisfy themselves.

'_How awful…' _

"_Damn that Orochimaru bastard."_

Harumi didn't have time to dwell on Miharu's own anger at what Orochimaru had done. Several Fallen were running at her. She waited patiently for them, sword blazing, building up chakra in her sword before swinging, the golden fire lurching off her sword and spreading out, covering them all. They dropped to the ground, writhing and screaming, until they lay perfectly still. They were all corpses, only they were kept alive and preserved by the curse mark, their souls trapped in their body and twisted into something dark and destructive.

A low inhuman growl rumbled out of the darkness and something large and heavy scraped along the floor. Harumi's foot slid back, a little nervous about whatever it was that was about to come out of that room. A terrifying chakra oozed out of the entrance; thick, dark, and hungry for blood.

She paled at the thing staring at her from the door way, swaying a bit.

"You've got to be kidding me…"

"_We are so dead."_

**A/N Yeah, cliff hanger!~ And Death has finally made his appearance.**


End file.
